Sometimes Sweetly, Sometimes Achingly

Chapter 6

Taeyong absentmindedly played with the hem of his jacket. “Are you Johnny’s best man?”

“Oh yes I am,” Jaehyun fake grimaced. An entertained smirk played across his lips as he said, “I also had to help pick out the ring, and Johnny’s already set up an appointment for finding suits. He told me I’m—and I quote exactly—his ‘ride or die bitch’ and there’s no way for me to get out of any of this. So now it looks like I have to be a wedding planner despite only having been to one wedding my entire life.”

“Good luck, with that,” Taeyong shuddered. “When Donghae-hyung was preparing for the wedding he went crazy. I feel like Johnny and Ten combined would be much worse.”

Taeyong jolted upright. “Oh wait, do you mind actually dropping me off at Donghae-hyung’s place? I told him I’d drop by one of these days.”

Jaehyun scowled, said, “Hyung, the traffic is fucking terrible if we go that way. Can’t you spare your designated chauffeur for once?”

After minimal convincing (read: none, because Jaehyun was weak and agreed without any more fuss), Taeyong found himself perched on one of the tall stools in Donghae’s kitchen while his brother prepared tea.

“Hyukjae told me about Ten and Johnny!” Donghae remarked, his back to Taeyong as he focused on dishing out tea leaves. “Such great news. They’ve been together for what, four years now?”

“Five,” Taeyong corrected.

“Ah, even better. They’ve always been so cute, if not a bit PDA-y.”

“You’re one to talk, hyung,” Taeyong giggled. “You’re the clingiest couple I know.”

The kettle went off. Donghae chuckled as he poured water into the mugs and turned around to slide one over to Taeyong. “Guilty as charged," he winked.

Taeyong scrutinized the contents of his cup, his bitten nails tapping skittishly against the table. “Hey, hyung?”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you wait so long to get married?”

If Taeyong didn’t already have Donghae’s attention, then that certainly did it. Donghae paused, his mug halfway up to his mouth.

Sensing that he’d struck an uncomfortable topic, Taeyong quickly added, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, hyung. It’s not a big deal.”

“No, no,” Donghae sighed as he set down his mug. “I was just caught off guard. The reason isn’t anything bad, it’s just…well, I always thought it’d be better if you and Jeno didn’t know.”

Taeyong frowned in confusion. “What does that mean?”

Donghae pulled up another stool so he was seated directly across from Taeyong. His expression was unusually serious—completely different from how lighthearted and gentle he normally looked.

“Taeyong, the first time Hyukjae proposed was eight years ago, when we’d been dating for nine years.” The corner of his mouth lifted slightly at Taeyong’s shocked gape. “I know what you’re thinking: why didn’t we get married back then, if he proposed? It’s because I said no.”

“You did?” Taeyong yelped, his mind whirring a mile a minute. Donghae, who loved Hyukjae so much, said no to marrying him? Donghae, who’d never even looked at another man once Hyukjae came in his life, said no? Donghae, his brother, said no?

Donghae covered his face, his laughter strained and unnatural. “God, I felt so bad. I remember thinking that that was it, that I’d ruined our relationship for good. I cried so hard, but instead of leaving, he just hugged me.”