forty nine

"where would i be without you, 'cause friends are family." -friends r family, michael patrick kelly.

——

two days later, after the doctor confirmed he was okay to leave, misun helped jihoon gather his things. he still moved a little slowly, but the color had returned to his face, and that alone made her heart lighter.

"careful," she said softly, steadying him as he tried to put on his jacket.

"i'm fine," he murmured, but the faint smile tugging at his lips gave him away.

"you probably said that before you fainted," she teased quietly, fixing his collar.

he sighed, then leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "i'll behave. promise."

she smiled, holding his hand as they left the hospital. the air outside was cool and soft, a little too bright after the quiet room they'd been in for days.

when they arrived at his apartment, jihoon hesitated at the door. "it's... quiet," he muttered.

but the moment he opened it, the lights flicked on and a chorus of voices shouted—

"welcome back!"

he blinked in shock as balloons and banners came into view. all of seventeen stood there, grinning like kids, with food laid out on the table and a giant cake that said 'rest, producer-nim!' in messy frosting.

misun laughed, her hand flying to her mouth. "you guys—"

hoshi ran up first, hugging jihoon so tightly that he winced. "jihoonie! don't ever scare us like that again!"

"i'm alive, hoshi. you can let go now," jihoon muttered, but there was warmth in his voice.

then seungcheol stepped forward, smiling at misun. "hey. long time no see. i mean, i saw you at the hospital but... this is different."

"cheol," she greeted softly, and he pulled her into a brief hug. "we missed you," he said, and the others chimed in with agreement.

"it's been years," joshua said, shaking his head as he smiled. "you still look the same, misun."

"thanks," she said with a small laugh, glancing at jihoon. "guess i aged better than him."

"hey," jihoon mumbled, pretending to be offended, and everyone burst into laughter.

they all sat down together, the room filling with chatter, laughter, and clinking dishes. misun made sure jihoon sat comfortably beside her. when she noticed he was only picking at his food, she frowned.

"eat properly," she said, holding up a piece of meat with her chopsticks.

"i'm eating," he said, avoiding her gaze.

"no, you're pretending." she moved the chopsticks closer. "open your mouth."

he stared at her, clearly embarrassed. "misun—"

but she only raised an eyebrow, waiting.

the members watched the exchange in silence before chan burst out laughing. "hyung's getting fed like a baby."

the whole table erupted in laughter.

"wow," seungkwan said dramatically. "woozi, the scary producer who used to yell at us for missing beats, is now being spoon-fed by his girlfriend."

"don't you dare say another word," jihoon warned, glaring, but his ears had already turned pink.

mingyu smirked. "too late. i'm taking a picture."

"mingyu!" misun laughed, covering her face.

"no one's ever gonna believe this otherwise," seungcheol said, shaking his head as he leaned back in his chair. "the mighty woozi has fallen."

"fallen in love," joshua added with a teasing grin.

jihoon sighed, but a small smile tugged at his lips. "you're all children."

"children who care about you," hoshi said, raising his glass. "to jihoon— for not dying and for finally being happy."

everyone raised their cups, laughing and cheering.

misun smiled softly, watching jihoon roll his eyes before finally taking the bite she'd been holding out for him.

the table erupted again with teasing, but she didn't care. he was eating, he was smiling, and for the first time in a long while—he looked at peace.

when the laughter settled, jihoon leaned closer to her and whispered, "thank you."

she looked at him, confused. "for what?"

"for staying," he said quietly.

her heart softened. "always," she whispered back.

and for a moment, even with all the noise and teasing around them, it felt like the world had finally slowed down—just enough for them to breathe together again.