eric’s been trying not to think about it. that day at jeno’s when they figured it out had been one of the scariest days in eric’s life, and he’d been pretty on edge since. he’d been trying not to show it though, putting on a happy, bright, unbothered exterior so that know one knew he was constantly terrified of this situation going south. he’s scared that jeno blames him for ruining his perception of his family, and probably eventually the reality of his family, since eric assumes it’ll eventually come out and he’ll have been the catalyst to his family falling apart.
but, he’s got to pretend everything is okay for his own mental stability right now - he can’t let his worries take over, especially not this weekend when he’s got so many people to spend time with. two of those people being jeno and a long-time friend of his, siyeon. eric has heard a lot about her, and knows she means a great deal to jeno. so, he has to make a good impression.
only problem is he’d just fallen in the river with chaewon and had literally only minutes ago waded out and parted ways with her, sending her off with his soaked plaid shirt to cover her white dress. he’d left her with other friends, knowing he needed to get to this picnic with jeno and siyeon, even if he was soaked and shivering. luckily it’s sunny, so he’s rapidly drying off as he walks across the grass, heading for the couple he can see on a picnic blanket not far away. “jeno!” he calls out as he gets close enough, finally stopped beside the blanket and giving a slightly embarrassed smile. “uh… sorry about… this,” he gestures at his soaked self. “i fell in the river.”
honestly, there’s a million ways her mind conjured up that this could go, but this was never one of them. really, could anyone have expected this? at the very least, it’s an interesting story to tell in the future of their first meeting, but in the heat of the moment, she’s not thinking of that. she’s too busy tripping over her own feet so stand up and tug him closer to their picnic blanket.
“oh my god, you must be freezing, come here. it’s a good thing I was embarrassingly over-prepared.” ( there’s no shame in bringing an extra blanket to a picnic, right? or enough food to feed them four times over? or packing three different types of drink in case he didn’t like the first two options? right? ) she’s tugging the blanket from her spare bag in seconds, unfolding it and frowning at the fact that, unlike a towel which would have been so much better to pack had she ( by some miracle ) predicted this, it probably won’t be too absorbent. that being said, the summer sun is still beating down so hopefully it won’t be too long until he dries off naturally, anyway — enough to enjoy the rest of the day, at least. unless you’re having a romantic kiss under the rain, being soaked to the bone isn’t really a happy or comfortable experience. hurriedly, she wraps it around his shoulders to keep him warm.
what she should be asking is how this happened, or why, but it doesn’t really seem important. her curiosity can get the better of her later when she’s stopped worrying that he’s going to catch a cold or worse. “jen…” she starts quietly, turning back to her best friend with soft eyes — the kind of gaze only he and her grandma typically get, one that’s full of concern and fondness. it doesn’t last long, though, because rather than make things too serious, she cops out into her usual playful snark. “I hate to say it, but looking at you right now,” she turns to eric, “and what I know about you,” then jeno, “you’re definitely related.”
jeno is speechless as soon as eric arrives, staring at him with wide eyes and not sure what to do about it. that could have a lot to do with the fact that he isn’t sure what to do about most tricky situations these days. decision-making isn’t effortless for him because he feels like the wheels in his brain are trying to turn but something’s jamming them. fortunately, siyeon springs into action and pulls out a blanket to wrap around him. it all feels so weird and silly, but he isn’t entirely sure what he expected. nothing involving him seemed to be conventional, and even less so when eric is thrown into the mix, too.
he doesn’t become aware that he hasn’t actually said anything until siyeon quietly begins speaking to him, and he turns to look at her before clearing his throat. just as he accepts that he’s going to have to make some sort of attempt, siyeon is playfully commenting on the situation which leaves jeno with a small, albeit somewhat forced, smile. “yeah...” he wants to kick himself for not saying more. he wants to, he just can’t figure out what. “so... i guess i don’t need to do the whole introduction thing since you both know a lot about each other already, but i’ll humor the situation... siyeon, this is my... my brother, eric... and eric, this is my—” he immediately stops, wondering why he had to go and do this whole title thing. now what was he supposed to say?
“—friend... siyeon. anyway, i’m hungry, let’s not make this too weird. i wanna know what all’s in this basket.” he pauses, considering the fact that maybe he should ask, “oh, how did you fall in the river, anyway?”
