{ A near-future AU for Donghyuk’s mun !
{ Merry Christmas~!
"Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it’s all over." - Octavia Butler
The tiny (cozy, the owners always insisted) restaurant was bustling, customers flocking in and out in a flurry of reds and whites and sequins and lights, hair flecked by the first flakes of an oncoming snowfall that would likely make Donghyuk’s job just that much more difficult. The signs of the holiday season were undeniable, Christmas music in more than one language spilling pleasantly out of the dated boombox on the counter, the lights framing the storefront window blinking in every color imaginable, couples and families and workers either beaming or flustered with the busy atmosphere of last minute holiday shopping, undeniably desperate for a quick and painless meal that required little effort on their part, or else it was unlikely they’d be spending the twenty-third day of Christmas at a chicken shop.
He was halfway through his break, having skipped his first one of the day so he could use it now; the extra fifteen minutes meant he’d get to catch M!Countdown right when he needed to. He’d timed it perfectly, because, even though it was one of the busiest times of the year, especially for deliveries, there was no way he was going to miss this. He’d set himself at his perch, one of the small square tables near the counter, a perfect vantage point for the modest flat screen fastened to the wall.
“I’m on break~” he called to whoever was looking for him in the kitchen, eyes already glued to the screen. They were a third of the way through the lineup by now, Sphere’s latest girl group finishing up their new single, and as the familiar faces flashed across the screen, announcing the next group’s debut performance, he found himself on the edge of his seat in anticipation.
“I know them,” he announced to whoever happened to be standing nearby (a young couple and a group of middle school aged boys, none of who seemed impressed), a proud grin already stretched across his face. But his attention was returned in full to the screen when the song started, and he couldn’t help but move along to the song, mouthing the words as he watched his friends, Bobby and Hanbin and Junhoe, and their groupmates performing their debut single on their second ever live stage. He could tell they were less nervous than they’d been before, moving around the stage, transitioning between verses and choruses, between formations, as if they’d been doing it all their lives. TRC certainly didn’t disappoint, and neither did the newly debuted half of the Noodle Squad. He could only hope, after receiving news from his most recent audition, that the company would do the same for him.
He’d tried his best to keep it a secret, to surprise his friends with the news at an opportune moment (via Skype or Facetime now that three of them were too busy being ferried from schedule to schedule to meet in person), but he’d blurted it out almost immediately after he’d ended the phone call with the TRC representative that contacted him to let him know he’d been offered a contract. They all vowed to celebrate, what, with Jinhwan starting at Royal, and Yunhyeong checking off one year at Nova, and Chanwoo waiting to hear back from TRC himself, but it was safe to assume the tiny gaps in their schedules would likely never overlap. Two and a half years it’d been since they’d all been able to meet in person as a group. And yeah, maybe he’d been counting. But he could not deny that their mutual success was wonderful, despite the fact that it seemed to be slowly dragging them apart.
The stage ended almost too quickly for Donghyuk’s taste, and Son Dam Bi took the stage next, signaling the end of his break. So he grabbed his keys and slung the pair of well-stuffed bags over his arms, committing the addresses on the receipt to memory before stuffing it into his pocket and heading out for the last delivery of the night.
The first delivery took a little longer than expected, considering the holiday traffic and the weather, and the six flights of stairs he had to scale due to a broken elevator. It wasn’t until about an hour later that he was on route to his next destination. He should’ve known there was a legitimate reason why the second address seemed so vaguely familiar, triggering the awakening of an elusive memory the same way a sudden whiff of a familiar smell did. But it never dawned on him; he didn’t even put two and two together until he knocked on the customer’s door and it swung open to reveal six familiar faces shouting “SURPRISE” and pulling confetti poppers in dangerous proximity to his face.
The words scrawled across the banner hung haphazardly across the living room resembled something sort of close to “Congratulations!” with his own name scribbled in bright marker next to Jinhwan’s and Yunhyeong’s underneath, and the bags of chicken he came to deliver were carefully pried from his hands so he could be effectively bombarded by the tackling hugs of his friends.
They were all there, the entire crew, and he wasn’t sure how it was possible, but he didn’t think to question it past the still-remaining smudges of stage makeup on their faces.
“You guys are insane,” he remarked breathlessly, through a wonderful bright smile.
And in response, Hanbin slung an arm over his shoulder, grinning just as brightly despite how exhausted he must have been.
“We figured it was about time the Noodle Squad got back together. Merry Christmas, bro.”
Donghyuk couldn’t think of a better Christmas present in the entire world.
