18.
"How's this?" Ji-na asked as she twirled in the light pink dress she was trying on.
"It's so girlish and pretty...the complete opposite of you," Seungcheol teased. Ji-na glared at him.
"Jeonghan-oppa? Does it really look that bad? Hangyeol and I are going out for dinner with some friends, so I wanted to get a new dress," Ji-na pouted.
"Do you even have enough money for it?" Seungcheol questioned.
"It shouldn't be too expensive, right? Mom gave me a little bit of extra money for the dinner before she left," Ji-na said. "Oh, look, here's the tag."
"How much is it? Ji-na, you know it's not good to spend too much," Seungcheol reprimanded her.
"Don't worry, I'm putting it back," Ji-na replied bitterly. "If I got this dress with what's left of my allowance, I wouldn't have any money left for dinner."
"How much is it?" Jeonghan asked hesitantly.
"65,000 Won," Ji-na answered disappointedly.
"Let me see how much I have...oh, here. I have enough. Here, take this," Jeonghan offered, holding out a 50,000 bill, two 10,000 bills, and a 5,000 bill. "The sales tax will probably increase the price to about 72,000 Won, so just give me whatever change you get back."
"Jeonghan, you don't have to do this," Seungcheol protested, pushing Jeonghan's hand back.
"I agree with him, Jeonghan-oppa. It's fine, really," Ji-na said as she shook her head.
"You look nice in it though. You like it, right? Don't worry about the price, I rarely spend too much money anyways. I have enough left," Jeonghan smiled.
"I couldn't," Ji-na refused. "I'm going to go change back into my outfit."
Jeonghan, Seungcheol, and Seungpo waited patiently as Ji-na changed. Jeonghan sang along to the store's music softly and with a bright smile as Seungpo moved to the beat cutely. He giggled when Seungpo accidentally hit Seungcheol with one of his flailing arms in an attempt to dance.
"Your voice is really nice," Seungcheol muttered to Jeonghan when the long-haired boy had switched to clapping instead of singing. "Your singing voice, that is. Your normal voice is too, of course!"
"Thanks," Jeonghan chuckled.
"I'm done," Ji-na announced, stepping out of the dressing room with the pink dress in hand. Jeonghan quickly snatched the dress out of Ji-na's hands and ran towards the cash register, slightly out of breath when he got there.
"Hello," he breathed out, handing the dress over. "Only this, please."
"Of course, Sir. That'll be 71,500 Won, please," the employee smiled politely. Jeonghan got out his wallet and handed her the money.
"Jeonghan, what are you doing?!" Seungcheol exclaimed, one hand holding onto Seungpo's tightly. Ah, that explained why Seungcheol took so long to catch up to him.
"I'm buying your little sister a gift," Jeonghan responded cheekily. The employee slid over the bag with the dress in it and handed Jeonghan his change. "Thank you!"
"Have a nice day! Thank you for shopping here!" the employee called out as Jeonghan, Seungcheol, and Seungpo walked to Ji-na.
"Jeonghan-oppa...you really didn't have to do that," Ji-na said honestly.
"I wanted to. Just think of it as a gift," Jeonghan told her.
"Thank you so much!" Ji-na beamed, crushing Jeonghan in a hug.
"It's no problem," Jeonghan laughed. "I think it's be a bit unfair if only you got a gift though. What do you say, Seungpo? Do you want a new jacket? It's getting kinda cold."
"Yes, please! Thank you, Jeonghan-hyung! You're the best!" Seungpo cheered.
☼
"Hey, thanks again for what you did for my siblings," Seungcheol thanked Jeonghan as the pair walked into Jeonghan's empty house together. "I wish that I had enough money to spend on them for these kinds of things, but it's all going to the house. It turns out that the damage is worse than it looks. They're going to have to rebuild our house completely."
"Oh, no! That sounds really expensive. Will it be okay?" Jeonghan asked.
"I don't know. I discussed it with my mom, but she just suggested living here forever," Seungcheol sighed.
"Oh," Jeonghan replied, unsure of what to say. "You know that you guys can do that if you want, right? If it's too expensive, you don't have to rebuild your house."
"I...I know. It's just that when my mom told me that, it was kind of during the time in which I still didn't like you," Seungcheol mumbled.
"Oh," Jeonghan repeated. He hesitated. "Um, Seungcheol? Would it be alright if I asked why you didn't like me?"
"It's stupid, really," Seungcheol said. "I was jealous that you had such an easy life. I don't know if you remember, but when we were younger, you tried giving me a bunch of things. I remember overhearing some kid say that it was because you pitied me. I didn't want you to be my friend because of pity."
"I would never do that," Jeonghan told him firmly.
"I know that now, but when I was younger, I just felt so betrayed that I couldn't pay any attention to logic and reasoning. After that, I just hated you for the sake of hating you," Seungcheol explained. "I'm sorry about that."
"It's not your fault! It's neither of our faults! Please don't apologize," Jeonghan said. "You know what? It's been a long day for the both of us. How does Chinese food sound?"
"It sounds lovely," Seungcheol smiled. "I'll pay."
"Seungcheol! Stop! You don't have to! Let me do it," Jeonghan urged.
"Don't worry, Jeonghan. You paid for my siblings earlier today, so please, just let me do this for you," Seungcheol responded.
"I...okay," Jeonghan sighed. "Wait! Don't you need that to pay for your new house?!"
"Well...if it's okay with you and your parents..." Seungcheol started. "...I'd like to stay here a while longer with the rest of my family."
"Really?!" Jeonghan's eyes widened, and Seungcheol nodded awkwardly.
"As long as you're okay with it–"
"Of course! You can stay here for as long as you want!" Jeonghan exclaimed eagerly, his eyes shining happily.
Seungcheol smiled softly at him, causing the butterflies in Jeonghan's stomach to flap around wildly. Jeonghan smiled back at Seungcheol brightly, feeling a new rush of thrill and satisfaction going through him. It was as if a tremendous weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.
A/N: sorry that this is so late!!! I had to write it after school D: on the bright side I'm p sure that I have little to no hw though!!! finally, I can relax :D time to finish "Emergency Couple" and get caught up on "Doctors" and start some other shows!!! if I have time that is lol
linked song is "Devil" by Super Junior bc it has been stuck in my head all day and I CANNOT get rid of it. it's such a catchy song!!! and their dancing is so adorable aw. I love it so much tbh. Super Junior's got a lot of good shit man you know
okay!!! that's it for today's update!!! I hope that it was somewhat??? nice and enjoyable??? idk. I thought it was pretty okay, even though it's unedited. it's p long though (over 1,000 words ö). tell me what you guys thought!!!
tyvm for your support as always bc it really does mean a lot to me!!! I hope that you guys have had/will continue to have an amazing day!!! you guys are great!!! ily all!!! see you next week!!! :D bye, everyone!!! love you!!! <3