A Found Family’s Love Is All He Needs
It’s Valentine’s Day and Tae-sun is spending it with his fellow 3N1GM4 members just chilling and watching something together.
Author's Notes
Originally written for the February monthly prompt for Jellybean Dragons, I was “challenged” by my friend Miikis to not use the prompt to write romantic fluff for Toothless and Amanda Lynn, so I instead focused on platonic love in the form of the friendship of the group 3N1GM4. This story has been modified from its original version and will probably receive more edits since all 9 members are supposed to be here and I only mentioned/used a few of them.
Tae-sun couldn’t help but feel perfectly safe, happy, content and loved in this moment. That love was purely platonic, but it (along with the other feelings) were something that he did not experience at home with his horrible drunkard of a father.
Tae-sun only felt this way when he was with these eight beans with whom he worked with, his brothers in music, his true family.
3N1GM4.
He was currently sitting on the couch, his head resting on Ha-myung’s shoulder while the group’s maknae, Haru, was resting his head on Tae-sun’s lap as he lay vertically on the couch.
All nine of them had been roped into watching the 2014 SBS Drama Pinocchio together, a show which Ha-ru had practically begged them to watch together.
Though, he didn’t really need to beg. No one in the group could bear to see their maknae sad, so rather than deny him, they had agreed to watch the show.
Tae-sun might say that he was envious of his maknae’s ability to just be himself and enjoy the things that he did without being judged by those in his life who he loved, but it was more that Tae-sun was immensely happy for him and wanted to protect Haru so that he could continue to be that way.
“Ya! Ha-myung, this character has the same name as you,” Chul, the leader of their group, jovially stated as he playfully nudged Ha-myung, who smiled and rolled his eyes in response.
Tae-sun chuckled, removing his head from Ha-myung’s shoulder after the nudge.
Though Tae-sun wouldn’t readily admit it, he had actually seen this show before, so he knew that the character wasn’t going to be going by the name Ha-myung for very long.
Tae-sun actually really enjoyed watching dramas, though he wasn’t as vocal about it as Ha-ru was, largely due to the fact that he learned pretty early on (thanks to his father) that he wasn’t considered “manly” for watching such content.
Yet another reason why Tae-sun preferred hanging out and living with these eight brothers of his. Like a true family, they loved one another unconditionally and accepted one another as they were.
Had they always been this way?
Certainly not.
Tae-sun remembered the days when they would fight, disagree and in general fail to mesh well.
That was back in their trainee days and they had eventually moved past these growing pains as they got to know one another better and lived together in their first cramped dormitory where it was almost two to each bed of the three bunk beds in the dormitory.
Tae-sun both missed those days and didn’t miss them, it had certainly brought them closer as a group, but the living conditions certainly weren’t ideal at all.
These days, Tae-sun enjoyed doing anything with his fellow members because they were his family, though no blood was shared between them.
Tae-sun’s reminiscing was interrupted as a bowl was silently and suddenly held before Tae-sun’s face and, craning his head to look behind him, found Si-u standing behind the couch with three large bowls of popcorn in his arms. He smiled at the sight of one of his more reserved hyungs doing something so sweet for everyone, though it wasn’t at all odd for him at all. Si-u often did stuff like this for the group, make them food or snacks to eat.
Tae-sun grabbed the bowl, whispering his gratitude to Si-u before sitting up straight and silently offering popcorn to Ha-myung, who happily took a handful.
Haru reached across to grab a handful as well, which Tae-sun had nearly admonished him for doing, but ended up merely chuckling about as the kid was trying to continue lying on his lap and watch the show while grabbing popcorn, so his hand was continually missing the bowl.
“Ya! Haru-ya, look where your hand is going,” Tae-sun laughed.
“Ah! Sorry,” Haru apologized, his ears drooping as he quickly sat up and grabbed a handful of popcorn.
“It’s alright,” he replied, “you see this show before by the way?”
“Uh, kinda? I only saw a few episodes while my mom was in the hospital.”
“Ahh, are you enjoying it so far then,” Tae-sun whispered his inquiry.
Haru beamed and nodded his head vigorously, “Yeah!”
And that was what made it all worthwhile to Tae-sun.
Seeing his fellow members happy made him happy.