ＳＷＥＥＴ ＣＨＥＲＲＹ

jeongin knocked on the door of the house he was send the address off, a little smile appearing on his face when he saw felix opening the door.
"hi lix hyung."

"hi innie, come in."
felix said, inviting jeongin in.

he walked into the living room, seeing three more people on the couch.
he knew two, but one stayed unfamiliar.

"jeongin! hi!"
jisung said happily when he saw his worker, immediately getting up and giving him a hug.
"I'm so glad you could make it."

"of course."
jeongin smiled.
"the bus goes here every ten minutes, it wasn't that hard to get here."

"I think I should introduce myself."
the only one jeongin didn't know stood up and made his way to him, offering jeongin his hand.
"I'm chan, Felix's boyfriend, it's nice to meet you."

"oh...I'm jeongin, nice to meet you too."
he said with a small smile, shaking his hand.

"so, should we start?"
chan said, clapping his hands.

"let's do it."
jisung nodded.

•~•

"look, this one is cheep."
felix said, showing jisung an available location.

jeongin, jisung and felix were currently all sat by the table, all of them going trough free spaces they could buy, while minho and chan were in the kitchen, making lunch for all of them.

"hmm, I'm not sure. I think the space is too small, and it won't fit that many cabinets we will need for the books. also it's pretty far from our house, and from my bookstore, getting there would be a lot of unnecessary work. and check where the location is, it's an old street, where normal people don't go that much until they absolutely have to. no wonder it's so cheap."
jisung said, resting his head on his palm.

"true."
felix nodded.

"I also think that having a bookstore here won't attract so many people."
jeongin said, making felix and jisung nod in agreement.

"let's just look for something different."
jisung said, all of them going back into looking.

while all of this was happening, chan was peeling potatoes, while Minho was cutting the meat.

"so, how long have you been dating jisung?"
chan asked with a small smile.
"I wasn't really able to ask yesterday."

minho smiled slightly.
"over two weeks. you and felix are way ahead of us."

chan smiled.
"I hope you're treating jisung good. he's like my brother, you know."

"well, I hope that I do too."
minho said.

"you know..."
chan started.
"...I have seen you guys together for many, many hours now, and I got to say that you have been doing a good job."

"really?"
minho asked.

"yeah."
chan nodded.
"I'm an observant person. I saw all the times jisung leaned towards you, showing that he finds comfort in you. I saw how happy he genuinely is. and of course that I have noticed how you look at him as if he was your entire world. you don't have to be unsure, you are doing a good job."
he said, giving minho a genuine smile.

minho smiled shyly.
honestly, it warmed his heart.
"how did you and jisung even meet?"

"oh, I have known this loose cannon since I was a kid. our parents were friends, even worked in the same industry, which means that both of our parents weren't really home that much. they didn't want us to be alone, so they made sure we're going to the same school. we saw each other many times before, so by the time we actually went to school, we were besties. even tho over the years our contacts died down a bit and we don't see each other as much anymore, and my place as a bestie was replaced by felix, we keep in touch."
chan said.

"that's actually adorable."
minho said with a smile.

"you know..."
chan started, suddenly sounding very serious.
"when jisung first introduced me to hyunjin, I didn't like him from the start. there was just something...I don't know, off? I can't really put it into words. jisung was a sunshine before he met him. his eyes were filled with brightness and light, that no one else had. as years went by, I saw jisung less. I know that hyunjin had a huge influence on that, but whenever I actually saw jisung, his light was slowly disappearing, until it disappeared completely. I don't think he noticed it, but oh god, it hurt me."
chan sighed, closing his eyes and looking down.
"I should have tried harder to get him out, and trust me that I did, but it wasn't enough. jisung is really naive. he trusts really easily. and together with the feeling of love...i know felix tried to open his eyes as well, without any success."
he said, before looking at minho.
"but yesterday, when I saw jisung after a year, I could see a bit of the light and brightness in his eyes that disappeared so long ago. that's another reason why I trust you with him, Minho. you were able to bring his light back. my hannie is coming back, all thanks to you."

minho looked behind his shoulder, seeing his boyfriend with his friends, looking at the huge screen of the laptop.
they were playing around a bit, jisung having a huge smile on his face, letting out giggles.
and minho couldn't help but smile as well.

"I promised myself that I will cherish him."
minho said, before looking back at chan.
"and I keep my promises."

"I can tell. you seem like a honest person."
chan said, peeling the last potato.
"that's why I want to tell you something that I never told anyone."

minho was looking at chan, waiting for him to start speaking.

chan sighed, before he spoke.
"me and jisung got very drunk one day together. well, I should say that jisung got very drunk. he can't handle alcohol that well. I called us an Uber, since I drank as well, and the driver drove us to his and hyunjin's apartment. I told the driver to wait for me, while I helped jisung into the apartment. but jisung kept refusing. not my help, but to go inside. he told me that he was scared that hyunjin will be mad, and he doesn't like the things he does when he's mad. god, I should have taken him with me right there, but I didn't, because I thought he was just saying nonsense. he really drank a lot. but when I look at it now, I see that jisung was deep down always afraid of hyunjin. even tho he didn't really know it himself, and the feeling was only there when he was drunk and his senses were mixed up, he was still scared of him. if I had listened to his words and actually looked into it, jisung could have been out of his grasp two years ago. I still feel so guilty."
chan looked down, tightly holding the end of the kitchen counter.
"so I'm beginning you minho, don't make him feel scared."

Minho nodded.
"I never will. he's safe with me, I would not let anyone hurt him. I promise."
he said, meaning every single word.
and chan knew he did as well.