Aftermath

Part 8

"Oh, I see," was all Jisung managed to say. Taehyun's tears soaked through Jisung's white shirt, but he didn't mind. His roommate had helped him so much over the past five months and he wanted to repay the kindness. Sure, there were some bad moments like when Jisung ripped up Taehyun's weight journal, or when Taehyun yelled at Jisung for being too much of a wimp. But, in the end, the two young idols became dependent on each other, some would even say close friends.

"And you love Beomgyu, too." Taehyun looked up. He knew Jisung hadn't asked him, but rather stated it.

"Wh-what?"

"Oh, c'mon! You talk in your sleep sometimes. You're always calling out for some boy named Beomgyu. I know it's your member. I looked up your band before you came so I could have something to talk to you about."

Taehyun's cheeks turned bright red. He lightly punched Jisung before breaking away and going to sit on his bed.

"So, when do you leave?" Taehyun asked, attempting to change the topic.

"Excited to get rid of me so soon? Johnny and Ten are supposed to pick me up in about five minutes," Jisung smiled softly.

"Hey, Hyunnie?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for everything. You helped me get better. I don't think another roommate would have been able to help me in the same way you helped me. I'm definitely not the same shy maknae I was before coming here. I know I have a long way to go before I'm back to being Jisung Pwark, but you definitely got me started on the right path, so thank you." The two boys smiled at each other.

There was a knock on the open door and Jisung turned around expecting his hyungs to be there.

"Oh, hi, you must be Soobin!" Taehyun stopped breathing.

Soobin? Why would Jisung be saying that?

"Yeah! And this is Hueningkai, Beomgyu, and Yeonjun. You're Park Jisung from NCT Dream, yes?" Taehyun recognized his leader's voice and dove under his sheets.

"Yeah! That's me! The maknae on top!" Jisung chuckled.

"Yo, ding-dong! You aren't on top! Now, come on! Let's go; you have a whole dorm of crackheads waiting for you. And a special little dolphin!" Taehyun recognized Ten's unique accent and popped his head out, giggling at the sight: Ten next to Huening, Soobin, and, well, everyone at the door was quite the picture.

"Ah, I hear you Taehyunnie! You better pipe down before I kidnap you and whoop your ass!" Ten snarked back, pushing his way into the room, hugging the small boy who was still hiding under his sheets.

"Ah! I'm not laughing, I'm not laughing!" Ten picked up the small boy with ease and threw him over his shoulder, carrying him to where Jisung and Johnny were waiting.

"Alright, boys, I think we have everything!" Johnny chuckled as the trio plus Taehyun began to move down the hall.

"Hey! Wait! He's ours!" A voice called out, causing Taehyun's heart to flutter. Ten stopped and put Taehyun down.

"Yeah, one second!" Ten shouted back. He gave Taehyun a big hug, pulling his head to his chest. Johnny and Jisung joined in.

"Thank you for helping our Jisungie, Taehyun. We are so proud of both of you with how far you've come. Keep getting better and fighting so that we can see you at awards shows, okay?" Johnny spoke up, breaking the hug.

"And don't be afraid to talk to your hyungs; and I don't mean the ones in your own group! We've officially adopted you into our family! Now Jisung isn't going to be the only maknae." Jisung stuck his tongue out at Ten when he spoke.

"Thank you, Ten hyung and Johnny hyung. Thank you for taking care of me while I had no one," Taehyun smiled. The trio from NCT nodded and smiled before wrapping their arms around each other and moving towards the exit.

Taehyun felt a pang of sadness fill his chest as he watched his roommate walk out of his life. He knew they would see each other at awards shows, but neither would speak to each other: not wanting to recall their time here.

"Hey, Taehyun-sshi! If you don't get back here, then we might just have to ship you off to them!" Kai's dolphin screeched filled the empty halls.

Taehyun turned and smiled, waving at his friends.

Well, it may have taken them five months to show up but at least they're here now. Maybe the aftermath wasn't as bad as I had thought. Taehyun ran back to his friends and allowed them to hug him for the first time in almost a year.