Chapter 26
Hoping to catch Jeremy's trail, Mi Nam bolted from his place on the stairs. Putting on a pair of sunglasses that he had in resting his jacket pocket he went into the kitchen and snatched his keys off of the keyholder, making his way out of the dorm. He couldn't have made it that far right? It's the middle of the afternoon. Traffic is always horrible this time of the day.
As he went down the stairs of the veranda to his vehicle, he thanked god that he caved in and bought Jeremy a bike that was a ridiculously obnoxious shade of yellow.
"Oh Mi Nam-ah." Mi Nam watched as Jeremy ran his hand over the handle bars, eyes full of joy. "It's this one." The boy suddenly hugged the machine like a child. Mi Nam just sighed, putting his hands on his hips. He knew there then was no way he could break him from it. "This is the one. Yes, and I'll name her Sunshine."
Mi Nam laughed a little at that memory before getting into his car. Starting the ignition, he wasted no time before pushing the gas and speeding down the road. A little rush of adrenaline went through his veins as he watched the scenery speed by, rolling down his window a bit to get fresh air. He smiled when he felt the wind blow through his hair, taking a big gulp of air in. Just for a moment he let his frantic mind calm. After a few minutes, he lets out a breath, slowing down to merge onto a main road that would lead him to the city.
"This is so ridiculous." Mi Nam muttered, shifting gear. He couldn't even believe how ridiculous the situation that was unfolding around him had become. He could tell just by the way Jung Hwa was mentioned that he was a toxic person to Jeremy. "Why. Why him of all people?"
But why you. Why are you doing this Mi Nam? What are you going to do even if you find Jeremy? His impulses got the best of him again, because he had no clue of what he was going to do once he got there- if he got there. Shouldn't you just let him be? Let him deal with it himself?
Normally Go Mi Nam would have taken that route, watching from afar, having minimal interaction until someone worked their magic and he began to recover. But this was a huge blow to recover from. Quite honestly, Mi Nam was unsure if he would. After all, it took Mi Nam only until very recent to get closure from Ye Eun.
But there was a part of him that felt as if this was all somehow his fault, as if he was responsible for Julie being unfaithful. He felt obligated to pick up the pieces, even though he was bad when it came to anything remotely emotional.
Why do you feel bad over something you had no control of, huh? That's not you. Plus, Jeremy was going to get hurt regardless. His hated to admit it but his brain was right. It was like watching a car crash in slow motion.
"I may have had no control, but I care-" He stopped himself, not quite sure what was going to come out of his mouth next. He groaned. What was with his thoughts today?
In attempt to get himself out of his own head, he scanned the roads ahead of him for any sign of Sunshine. He of course saw nothing. And unfortunately his situation wasn't one where he could just call or text Jeremy and ask where he was.
He sighed. What was he going to do next?
Suddenly Mi Nam felt his phone vibrate from within his pants pocket. When he stops at the next light, he checks it. A text from an unknown number flashed on the screen in front of him.. [Jung Hwa, we're at a sandwich shop called Yummi.].
A text from Julie detailing him exactly where she was? Good fortune was truly shining on him today. But was it possible she done this on purpose to further incite Mi Nam? Or had this been a slip of the hand and Mi Nam and Jung Hwa had similar phone numbers? His intuition was telling him it wasn't done on purpose. There really was no other point for her to do so other than her just to be vindictive. And quite honestly to Mi Nam that seemed like the last thing she wanted to do.
Not concerning himself with the origins of the text any longer, he swiftly turned on the voice command on his phone. "Find a sandwich shop called Yummi." He commanded as the light changed and he continued on down the road, one hand on the wheel.
"Located." The phone responded within a matter of seconds, "Would you like the directions?" Replying with a yes, his navigation turns on. He glanced down at his phone to see the amount of time it would take and let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was less than 30 minutes away with traffic. Hopefully he would make there in time.
"Jeremy."
The boy shivered upon hearing his name come from Julie's lips. His body's reaction was shocking to him and it didn't quite know how to interpret- unsure if it was because he was actually becoming chilly or if it was something else. There was one thing he knew for sure though and that was that the very moment he walked in the door of the little sandwich shop, he knew something was off. Something wasn't right.
Julie greeted him half-heartedly, with a small smile and told him that she was glad he finally arrived. But it didn't really feel that way. It was almost if she wanted him to not be there- and he felt overcome with the feeling that he was a sitting duck.
Rubbing his arm, he tried to calm his nerves.
"Are you okay? You aren't cold are you?" Julie asked, concerned.
"No. I'm fine." He gave a short reassurance before breaking eye contact with her, focusing his attention to a cup of peach soda that sat in front of him.
They had ordered not long ago and he silently prayed that the food would be delivered soon, so he could try to ignore the tension by drowning himself in turkey and mayonnaise.
"Oh." She sounded. He could tell just from her response she found his actions odd.
The atmosphere between them was awkward. They had shared few words since he arrived and only made small chat until their orders were taken. She wasn't really trying to talk to him, even though she was usually chatty and that made him more uneasy.
With the bubbly peach soda unchanging, he turned his attention the restaurant. The atmosphere of the restaurant was actually quite vibrant. There were a few groups of people and even some people by themselves, but they all seemed content, either chatting away with friends or blissfully eating alone. He wondered if any of them had looked over at him and Julie in the same way. What would they even think of us? That we were a couple?
Jeremy felt his stomach sink. Had he become so disillusioned with the idea of being a couple that he really lost his common sense. He let himself get caught up in the idea of being in love again and opened himself up, letting her do whatever she pleased- naively thinking that there was no way he could get hurt. Why would she purposely hurt him? She loved him too… Right?
Jeremy sighed, a number of scenarios flying through his head. The thought that stuck with him the most was the idea she had someone else. And it all really made sense to Jeremy now that he thought about it. Why Mi Nam was the way he was, how Julie's been attached yet detached to him, how she was now. But if this was the case, why had she lied? Why couldn't she have been truthful? Why would she let him get close and put his heart on the line? And…lastly, who could it be?
Jeremy's hands began to clam.
"So," Julie started, placing her hands on the table. "I've got something some I want to talk to you about."
Jeremy knew what was coming next and dreaded it, apprehension eating away at the pit of his stomach. But before she even could speak another word, something caught in his peripheral vision; something out of place. Shifting his gaze down only slightly, he immediately spotted what it was. There was a engagement ring on her finger.
The boy's heart dropped as he lifted his hand, pointing towards the ring. "That…"
Immediately she curled her hand away, using her other hand to quickly cover it up. "I-I haven't been honest with you, On Yu."
"Really? I couldn't tell." Jeremy snapped, anger beginning to boil. He didn't want to yell and disturb the other patrons in the restaurant. That wouldn't be fair. He needed to keep his cool not only out of respect for them but for himself. Why should Julie get the pleasure of seeing him upset way?
Then it hit him. That's why she did it in a place like this, huh? Because she knew I wouldn't make a scene here like I would have at home. Because we're in public and I have to save face at all costs.
She lowered her head before looking back to Jeremy. "You have every right to be angry at me."
"Who?" He demanded, voice barely audible. "Who is it?"
She hesitated a little before finally spitting it out. "It's Jung Hwa."
Jeremy froze. "Jung Hwa?" The pain he felt from her initial betrayal was nothing compared to just the mentioning of that man's name. And for her to tell him that's it's him- him, that monster of all people made him so sick to his stomach he felt bile creep up his throat.
"When you were still recovering, Jung Hwa came into my life. It wasn't intentional and I kept trying to ignore him, but it soon become impossible. So I began to see him secretly- I wanted to know why he did all that to you. But I became too involved. After you left for Korea, I kept going to him. Before I knew it, we became close. Even when we decided to break up, I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd feel betrayed."
Betrayed? Betrayed? He felt more than just betrayed. He felt utterly destroyed. He sat there in silence- not even knowing how to respond- literally so overwhelmed with confusion, rage and grief. Not only had Julie kept the secret of her engagement from him, she had been involved with that scum while they were still technically together when he moved to Korea.
"I hope you can find it in your heart to accept this." Julie caught Jeremy straight in the eyes.
"I'd rather cut off my own arm than wish you happiness with that piece of shit." Unable to deal with the situation any longer, he got up from the table. "I'm leaving now." He bit his lip, trying hard to fight tears that he felt pooling in his eyes. He was not going to cry here, not in front of her.
But he felt his vision start to get blurry; sure it was only a matter of time before the tears began to fall. Jeremy walked slowly through the restaurant, head low as to not attract attention to himself. Being near the back of the restaurant, an otherwise simple walk feel began to feel like a journey- each step echoing painfully in his ear and pinching his heart. He wanted to run, he wanted to lash out. But he couldn't- and he knew he couldn't.
"Jeremy, please." He heard Julie's attempt but dismissed it. It was if he could see the pain on her face just from her cry. Jeremy knew that he couldn't take hearing anything more from her, even if it was a string of apologies.
He only takes a couple of more takes before bumping into someone however- having not completely paid attention to his surroundings. He whispered a somber sorry before continuing, only to have the person grab him by the arm.
The second that hand wrapped around him he knew. Even after all this time, his grip on his arm still felt the same. It still hurt the same as it did when he was 14. Oh, and he didn't want to look up.
"That hair colour looks good on you, On Yu-ah."
Every single word spoken by that man seared into his skin like hot coal. Jeremy cringed, pulling his arm out of his grip. "Don't call me that. You have no right to even speak to me."
"No right huh? You say that but are too cowardly to even look at me? Look at me."
"Don't provoke me, Jung Hwa." Jeremy clenched his fists, finally looking up at the man.
Tall and built, the pale-skinned and sickly looking Jung Hwa stood in front of him with crossed arms. Even after all this time, a new haircut and a better wardrobe, Jung Hwa had eyes cold enough to pierce through Jeremy's entire being. It was as if the entire world around him disappeared- the pure anger Jeremy felt towards him made him completely forget that he was standing in a restaurant, just steps away from the exit just seconds ago he was desperate to go through.
"You still have a grudge against me don't you?" Jung Hwa scoffed. "How petty."
"What does it matter to you anyway?"
Jung Hwa's eyes widened. "Did you forget that what I did for you? I did everything for you. You were a scrawny nobody that nobody wanted to be associated with until you met me."
"The only thing you were good at doing for me was stealing things away from me. You stole my a year of my life, my innocence and my happiness. I don't know how you managed to fool Julie into thinking you're anything but a monster but- listen. I'm warning you. If I find out you've laid a hand on Julie- I'm going to have it." Even though the boy had been stabbed in the back by her, he still cared so deeply for her.
"Have it? Why don't you just do it now? You look rather eager to give me a punch or two."
"Hyung!" Mi Nam's voice called from nowhere. Turning his head only slightly, he sees the boy saunter towards him, pushing his sunglasses up into his hair. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Mi Nam simply gives him a look. That look told Jeremy that he understood-even though Jeremy wasn't sure how long the younger had been there or how much he heard.
"Mi Nam? What are you doing here?" Jeremy roughly tumbled back into reality.
"Don't worry about that. But we should leave now, hyung. We've got a lot of things to do today, remember?" Mi Nam sensed the situation was at a critical point and knew that both of them needed to get out.
"Oh, aren't you that Go Mi Nam kid?" Jung Hwa pointed to Mi Nam. Both of the boys head turned at Jung Hwa's comment. "The one that got dumped by Yoo He Yi for being unstable? Wow, A.N Jell is sure full of colorful characters." He clicked his tongue in disapproval.
Mi Nam narrowed his eyes at Jung Hwa. Some nerve he's got. He was tempted to smack him straight in the face.
"It's not worth it." Mi Nam tightened the grip on Jeremy's shoulder, pulling him ever so slightly to so he could whisper in his ear. "We should go."
Jeremy knew Mi Nam was right. If he fought Jung Hwa, hit him like he wanted, what would that solve? Nothing. It would only start a scandal. He would give into his anger and just make a fool of himself.
"We'll be leaving first, Jung Hwa-ssi." Mi Nam began to pull Jeremy along.
"Yeah, I guess that's all you can do huh? Run away with your little stupid boyfriend?"
Mi Nam couldn't say those words spoken by Jung Hwa didn't sting-and knew there was a smug expression to match it. But before Mi Nam could turn to tell Jeremy just to ignore it, he felt him violently yanked himself from out of his grip. Spinning around to see where he had gone, he is met with the sight of his hyung charging at Jung Hwa full speed. Jeremy punches him straight in the jaw, sending him hurdling back towards an empty table. Jung Hwa staggers for a bit before striking back and missing the drummer only by a hair. With the opportunity open, Jeremy pushed him to the ground. The pair hit the floor with a harsh thump and caught onto a tablecloth, causing a large clatter from broken glass and scattered silverware. Go Mi Nam had never seen his hyung so genuinely full of rage before, his punches full force and venomous curses flying out of his mouth at an amazing rate.
Mi Nam was so awestruck he couldn't move, watching as the fight erupted before his eyes. The people in the restaurant reacted instantaneously, however, and in a heartbeat realizing there were idols involved, were taking photos. They gathered quickly around the pair, in complete either in amusement or awe like Mi Nam.
Out of his peripheral vision, Go Mi Nam saw two workers head over- probably in attempt to break it up and tell them get the hell out.
Finally, coming back to earth, Mi Nam mustered all his strength in heaving Jeremy back from pummeling Jung Hwa any further. The older fought back, fiercely flailing in his grip. "MI NAM LET GO! HE DESERVES EVERY BIT OF WHAT'S COMING FOR HIM! YOU BASTARD." Jeremy tried to striking again but Mi Nam manages to successfully remove Jeremy completely off of Jung Hwa before doing so. Both of them had got in a decent number of hits at each other- especially Jung Hwa, who was bleeding from his nose and busted lip. Mi Nam immediately noticed a long bleeding cut on Jeremy's cheek, as well as another on his nose and a bruise that was beginning to form on his jaw. What have you done Jeremy hyung…?
Jeremy gulped, gazing down at the bleeding and bruised man still on the floor. Jung Hwa just smirked as he spit out a little blood out from his mouth, lifting himself up onto his hands. Julie was now beside him, checking him over with the greatest of care and concern. Jeremy saw the look in Jung Hwa's eyes and knew. He had won.
"Hyung, look at me." Mi Nam said, breaking Jeremy out of his daze. He grabbed him by the cheeks, turning his face towards him. It was another moment between them in which nothing needed to be said. Jeremy simply blinked- the gravity of the situation crashing into him like a rough wave. The sounds of clicking threw him further into the reality, his head lowering once more.
Taking off his jacket, Mi Nam threw it over Jeremy's head to hide his face. Even though it was futile, Mi Nam attempted to implement a little damage control. Locking his hands with Jeremy, he finally lead them out of the sandwich shop, whispering sorries to the stunned workers and manager along the way, all the while keeping his head lowered. The sooner they were out of the area the better.
The repercussions of this were going to be awful, Mi Nam knew, but what mattered most to him was Jeremy's mental health.
He heard Jeremy begin to sob violently under the jacket and wanted nothing more than to try to comfort him. But he knew there was little he could say to console him.
Instead Go Mi Nam tightens the grip he has on Jeremy's hand, hastily leading them down through the streets and back to his car. Mi Nam was thankful he had found a park on the 3rd level of the public parking area he left his car in, so they'd have just enough privacy.
Jeremy remained silent, minus his sobs which seemed to get more intense with each step they took. As they enter the elevator of the parking deck, Mi Nam pushes the button for the third floor and whispers, "Only a little further hyung."
And Mi Nam didn't know if it was because of his words or if Jeremy just didn't have the energy to continue, but he felt Jeremy calm and his cries slowed to barely audible whimpers.
After hearing the ding for his floor, he drug Jeremy off the elevator and to his car. Locating it within seconds, he kept walking them on until they reached the vehicle. Stopping them in the space in between his car and another, he quickly scans the area for people and paparazzi, both which are nowhere to be seen.
Careful in his approach, Mi Nam slowly reached up and gently removed the jacket from off of Jeremy's head, taking the now tear stained piece of clothing into his arms. Immediately he is met with a sight that nearly severs his heart in two. His eyes were sunken in and his face was swollen. Never had he seen his hyung look so utterly torn, so sad, so broken. With tears still streaming down Jeremy's face, Mi Nam began to soothingly rub Jeremy's shoulders.
"It's fine." Jeremy sniffled, wiping his tears. "I'm fine now."
"Who are you trying to convince more, me or yourself?" Mi Nam takes his hands away.
Jeremy's eyes shifted down and a silence settled over the pair. What was he even going to do with himself now? He felt restless, broken, sick. Like his soul left his body and all he had left was a shell. Working up the energy to speak again, Jeremy finally says, "I need… to be alone." He didn't know where or what he would do, but he just needed to go somewhere and think.
"Are you sure?" Mi Nam didn't have a good feeling about that.
Jeremy forced a smile, ruffling Mi Nam's hair. "Yeah, I'm sure. Just go home, Mi Nam-ah. I'll be fine."
"Hyung-" Go Mi Nam took his sunglasses off, sliding them onto Jeremy's face. "It may not help much but, try not to attract too much more attention to yourself. Call and check in with me. Lay low and don't stay out too late, okay?"
Jeremy nodded and in one swift move, turned and walked away.
Mi Nam lifted himself up groggily from his spot on couch. He sighed disappointingly when he checked his phone for the time, slamming his head back on the couch. It was 2 A.M. 2 A.M and all he received from Jeremy was a short collect call saying he "would be back soon". That was at 11. Mi Nam could feel his gut deepen with apprehension. He shouldn't have left him alone. Why did he let him leave?
The boy groaned, trying to rub the remnants of sleep out of his eyes. Upon returning back to the dorm, the chaos began. News of the fight had spread like wildfire and he promptly received calls from his Manager, his sister and at least 10 others within 3 hour time frame. Each person would ask what happened and he basically told them all the same thing: Jeremy ran into someone that had disrespected him and he snapped. They all wanted to know more and thought Go Mi Nam was holding back, but honestly he didn't know. He had only walked in on the ending of their confrontation.
Manager Ma told him he would do his best to help suppress the commotion but couldn't do anything to stop the President's wrath and the general public from crawling down Jeremy's throat. There was going to be a very rocky road ahead for A.N Jell and Jeremy especially, he explained, but it was good Mi Nam stopped him before either got substantial injuries. "I saw a video clip, Mi Nam." He started. "There are only 3 of them. Of course, we've asked all of them to kindly take the clips down, but Mi Nam-ah. I thought that he was really 'bout to kill him."
I can't believe all the pictures and videos are already circulating on the internet. That meant it was probably also a top search and had a piece or two written about it. At this rate, he wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't a bit on tonight's news. Go Mi Nam sunk lower in the couch. Everyone was back at the dorm now and after discussion the situation at hand and expressing their concerns about Jeremy, ended up crashing around midnight. He knew none of them were resting peacefully except for Min Jee. How could they?
"Make sure he comes back, Mi Nam." Tae Kyung demanded. "And not by police car."
"If he's not back by midnight, wake me up and we'll go look okay?" Shin Woo reassured. They couldn't drag him back home no matter how much they wanted too. They couldn't call, text or locate him by phone because Jeremy had, at some point, placed his cell phone into the pocket of Mi Nam's jacket. The keyboarder didn't know this until it was too late and was confused as to if it was a purposeful move by his hyung or forgetfulness after not wanting to carry it.
All of a sudden, Mi Nam heard a crash come from the kitchen. Getting off of the couch, he dashed into the room where he found his hyung, lying on the floor. He could tell from the glaze in eyes that had been drinking and was probably still intoxicated.
"Hyung." Mi Nam got on his knees beside Jeremy.
In a monotone voice he replied with a simple "Hey" and gave Mi Nam a little wave. The instant his hand went up, Mi Nam observed more injuries. Grabbing him by the wrist, he saw that his hyung's hand was now littered with fresh cuts and small shards of glass stuck out of his skin. "Oh, ah that...it really hurts." He mumbled, as if he just noticed he was injured.
"What happened to you?"
"I ran into something…maybe. Augh. I don't know."
Mi Nam took a deep breathe in before helping his hyung up and towards the kitchen table. Remembering how his sister stashed a first aid kit under the sink, he starts to search for it, thankful that his sister insisted to put one in every room. After finding it lovingly tucked behind the crockpot, he took it out, walking back to the table where Jeremy had already taken a seat, his head laying on the table.
Putting down the kit, he pulled out everything he needed immediately to help tend his wounds- setting a couple packets of antiseptic wipes, bandages, tweezers and gauze down beside him on the table.
"Sit up." Mi Nam demanded. The older did as he was told and sat up straight in his chair. "Just stay still, ok?" Picking up an alcohol pad, he moved closer to Jeremy to start disinfecting the injury. "It'll sting a little."
Mi Nam watched Jeremy cringe as the pad hit his cheek cut. It wasn't too deep and now that it was getting cleaned it would surely be unnoticeable once it healed.
"So, you can't remember what did that to your hands?"
"I fell though some glass, I think."
"What?"
"It was only a table or something."
Mi Nam sighed at his response, gently putting a small bandage over Jeremy's cheek cut before moving to his damaged hands. As he took the tweezers and began to pick out the glass pieces, he muttered, "You act like falling through a table isn't a big deal."
"Ouch." His voice cracked. "I wish it was a window I fell through instead."
The seriousness of his tone sent a wave of worry through Mi Nam. "Hyung." The younger chided. "Don't say things like that."
"I never thought believing in someone could make you so foolish. Now look at me." Jeremy stated before closing his eyes. He exhaled, wanting to crawl up into a ball and shrivel away. He opens his eyes mere seconds later, letting his vision settle on the young keyboarder in front of him who was so diligently pulling glass out of his hands with tweezers. Finally, as Mi Nam ran the alcohol over the cuts, Jeremy swore he could feel every ounce of the liquid seep into his skin. And as the sting went away, he felt himself become more alert. He was beginning to sober up.
"What was your relationship with Jung Hwa?" Before Go Mi Nam actually registers the action in his brain, his mouth speaks for him. He instantly wanted to pull out his own tongue and felt as if he had committed a great sin even acknowledging his existence. Mi Nam didn't want to just bring him up like that, especially without easing him into the topic, but the question had been at the back of his mind for a while now. But the boy was curious. If the exchange of a few words broke Jeremy out into a violent rage towards the other- their background was probably nasty as Ye Eun had implied.
Mi Nam put his head down; now going on to the bandage work for Jeremy's hand, hoping Jeremy hadn't heard his question.
Jeremy knew he didn't mean him any harm. He'd be dying to know about the guy that got his hyung so worked up too. But how could he explain all that he had gone through with Jung Hwa? Killing the pause in their conversation, he continued. "Dependence."
"Dependence?" Mi Nam looked back up with curious eyes.
"He took advantage of a young more naïve and innocent me. A weaker me. He manipulated me...he...used me." Jeremy paused suddenly feeling as if his throat had developed prickly thorns. "I was so attached to him. I would do anything to make him happy- anything- even if it hurt me. Because he was my hyung. His meant everything to me."
When Mi Nam saw the way Jeremy's eyes had changed and his body language, it all clicked in his brain.
"Did you love him, hyung?" He carefully inquired. Could Jeremy hyung really have-
Jeremy just stared at other, expressionless. "What happened between us...there was no love."
Deciding to let his desire to know the answer die, the younger also chose to stop the conversation about Jung Hwa in fear he would get so angry he would personally track him down and beat him worse than Jeremy had.
"I guess we're sort of on the same boat now, hyung?" Mi Nam joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Betrayed by our ex-lovers maybe?"
Jeremy couldn't help but chuckle. There was something in that moment that sparked a new feeling in him- one that made him just want to hold the other.
"Mi Nam-" He could feel his heart rate triple when their eyes met. Whoa. Since when did Mi Nam get such pretty eyes? Since when were his eyelashes so long? His face seemed so soft in the light and he just wanted to touch-
Get a hold of yourself, Kang. Jeremy attributed his thoughts to the alcohol still in his system.
"Yeah?" Go Mi Nam gave all his undivided attention to Jeremy, but immediately noticed the look he was giving him. "Why are you looking at me like that?
"Nothing, it's nothing." He shook his head.
"Alright. It's done." The other interrupted, not prepared to hear whatever he was about to say.
Mi Nam removed his hand from Jeremy's. Jeremy's fist curled at the lost of the warmth and physical contact.
"Since it's your birthday." He piped, walking over to the fridge. "It's finally the right time to show you this."
"Did you get me something?"
"Of course. You were going to bug me until I did anyway." Jeremy observed his every action as he opened the refrigerator, taking out a small white box. He headed for the utensil drawer next, he grabbing two forks and a matchbox before sitting the box down in front of Jeremy.
Pulling the box cover off quickly, he whisper shouted, "Happy birthday!"
Underneath the box was small cute pale pink cake with sprinkles in the frosting and three little white candles. "Mi Nam thank you!" Jeremy couldn't help but let a bright smile surface. The sight of this made Mi Nam relieved. Maybe just for a moment, he can forget everything and just enjoy this?
Jeremy dipped his finger around the cake collecting frosting to taste. It was smooth and light and he was pleasantly surprised upon tasting it was his favorite icing.
"Is it alright?" Mi Nam asked, timidly.
"Hmm." He nodded. "I can't believe you made this for me."
"Yeah well, you're welcome." Extracting a match from the matchbox, he struck it down quickly and lit a match. "I know you already had a cake and blew out candles and all that jazz but-" He lit the candles one by one. "Just do this for me, okay? I worked hard I want to see you enjoy every part of this."
"Sing for me?"
"Sing?" Saying he didn't want to would be a major understatement.
"Come on." Jeremy tugged on his arm.
"Why? You've already heard it being sung to you."
"You can't make me a cake and light the candles without singing, dummy."
"Fine." Taking a deep breath, Mi Nam rushed through singing happy birthday to his hyung. "Whatever. Now close your eyes and make a wish."
Jeremy shut his eyes, wishing for happiness and good health, before blowing the candles out.
"What did you wish for?" Mi Nam inquired eagerly, a soft smile on his lips.
"Hmm." He hummed. "That? You really want to know?"
"Hyung~" Mi Nam made a pouty face.
"Are you trying to use aegyo on me?"
He snickered. "Is it working?"
"A little." Jeremy picked up of one the forks. Mi Nam hadn't bothered getting a knife but Jeremy didn't mind. Sticking in his fork, he piled on as much cake as he could before stuffing it into his mouth. Yeah, he thought, it tasted just as good as it looked. "This is good!"
"Really?"
"Did your sister help you?"
"No." Mi Nam responded, slightly offended. "Are you doubting my talent?
"No!" He quickly retorted.
"You liar." Mi Nam crossed his arms. "You know the reason I wanted to learn how to cook was so I could do this for you! Why would I ask someone else to help me? It takes away the purpose!"
"You really…" Jeremy glanced over to Mi Nam, a curious expression painted his face, head slightly cocked, "wanted to learn how to cook just for me?"
"No." Mi Nam instantly blushed, shaking his hands. "I mean, I wanted to learn so I could, so I could-" He couldn't even make up a excuse fast enough.
"Ah, Mi Nam I could just eat you up you're so cute~" He teased, lifting another piece of cake to his mouth.
"HEY! Shut up! Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean you can say things like that!" Mi Nam hit Jeremy on the back of the head, nearly making him choke on his cake slice.
"It's okay, Nam-ah. But come here. I want to tell you what it is I wished for." He beckoned him closer.
Sensing it was trick, he stood his ground. "You can't tell me from arm's length?"
"Nope." He shook his head.
Narrowing his eyes, he scooted closer to his hyung. "What is it?"
Within seconds, Jeremy shamelessly stuck his hand into the cake, grabbing a fist full of the dessert before stuffing it mercilessly into Go Mi Nam's face.
Shocked, Mi Nam gasped, cake pieces dropping from his face. How could he be stupid enough to fall for that? Wiping as much he could manage off, he ironically spreads most of the icing onto unaffected areas of his face. "You! I don't care if it's your birthday! You're going down!"