The Same

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Jeno grunts as Jaehyun engulfs him in a tight hug, practically crushing his ribcage.

"Hyung I- I can't breath."

"Who needs air when you have your older brother?" Jaehyun states, not letting go.

"Me." Jeno's voice flattens in annoyance and eventually, Jaehyun pulls away. Jeno had come home for Winter break, and now that exams were over, he could finally relax. Well, he hoped to at least; although his dad brought him back (after plenty of convincing), their relationship was extremely rocky. Heck, Jeno was surprised he was even allowed to come back home for the holidays.

"Well, noona and hyung have gone out shopping, dad is at the office, and mom is napping; so it's just you and me bud." Jaehyun smiles and enters the living room with Jeno right behind him. "So what's been going on? How's college treating you?"

Jeno frowns as he thinks back to the past week. A lot has happened, most of which is a blur to Jeno: Jaemin got drunk on Hayoon's deathiversary, they made a mistake, Jeno made sure to not leave Jaemin alone, they began to stick together, and Jaemin got a new cat. "Not much I guess. Jaemin got a new cat though."

"Don't tell me you–"

"I bought it for him." Jeno smiles as his brother groans.

"You're allergic Jeno, you really shouldn't be exposing yourself so much."

"I know, but he looks so happy when he sees Seol and Nal playing," Jeno exclaims. Jaehyun rolls his eyes but says nothing more, and instead finds himself smiling as Jeno continues to talk about Jaemin and "their" cats.

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Donghyuck bursts open the bakery door and shouts loudly for his friend, startling the customers around him. Sicheng, who was at the register, sighs and goes to the kitchen, telling Jaemin that "your human siren is here". He exits the kitchen with Jaemin behind him.

"Hyuck! You don't need to shout." Jaemin whispers as he unties his apron. "Just text me if you're coming here."

Donghyuck shrugs. "Where's the fun in that?" He grabs Jaemin's apron and tosses it to Taeil who had just entered from the 'employees only' door.

"Hyuck!"

"Come Jaem." Donghyuck hooks their arms, ignoring his friend's protests. "You and I are going shopping because Mark and I got in a fight and I want some new skirts."

"You got in a fight? You and Mark got in a fight?" Jaemin follows the tanned male towards the crosswalk.

Donghyuck frowns. "Unfortunately, yes. We both said things we shouldn't have and it got heated." They cross the street and stop to wait at the bus stop. "All in all, I'm sad and he's angry."

Jaemin sighs. "You walked out on him didn't you?"

"Ok yes, but he also told me to get out." Donghyuck reasons, trying not to seem petty.

"What was the fight about?" Jaemin sits on the stop bench and pats the seat beside him, which his friend gladly takes.

"Nothing in particular. Just pent up stress and feelings...guess we both finally cracked." He shrugs. "It's not like one of us is at fault, we're just overwhelmed with school and work."

"Right.." Jaemin nods, only just remembering that Donghyuck started working at a pet shop just down the street from their apartment complex.

"So I decided to come to pick you up at the end of your shift and buy some skirts." The bus arrives and the two boys climb on, making their way to the back where the seats were raised and they could let their legs dangle.

"Isn't it pretty cold for skirts though?"

"Not if you don't wear stockings. Plus," Donghyuck holds his finger up smartly. "Pair it with a nice sweater and you'll be perfectly cozy."

Jaemin just chuckles over the clatter of the bus engine. "If you say so."

"I do. In fact, I also want to dye my hair."

Jaemin's eyes widen. "Really? What color?"

Donghyuck hums in thought. "I don't know, I was thinking of red."

"Ahhh, I can see that. I still like the hair you have right now though." Jaemin says, twirling the soft strands of hair around in his fingers.

"It's nice but I've had it for so long, plus it doesn't hold a special meaning as yours does."

"Mmm, that's true." Jaemin smiles and stands when they reach the mall. They get off the bus and enter the large building.

"Alright Jaem, first place, the hair salon."

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"Jaemin why are there two cats sitting on the couch?" Mr. Na asks, his face showing both concern and confusion. "Don't tell me you're becoming a cat lady."

Jaemin exits from the kitchen sighing. "They're my cats. That's Seol and that's Nal. I told you about them before I came back here."

"I don't recall."

"Probably because you thought the text was spam or something."

Mr. Na chuckles nervously. "Right, well...I need to head to the airport now. I'll be back in a couple of weeks, and don't open the presents till Christmas day." He smiles at his son and leaves the house, not forgetting to lock the door behind him.

Jaemin sighs and looks at his cats with pity. "Why even bother coming home if no one is here anyway?"

"Meow"

Jaemin narrows his eyes. "I get it, I'm lame."

"Meow"

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∆oop the next chap will be longer, but I'm more focusing on Take Me Back today∆