ateez family au

106

"Ah! Seongie! My angel!" Jeonghan cheered as he approached his friend with wide open arms. He pulled the younger in a dear hug and squeezed him tight. "I missed you! You don't know how hard these meetings are when I have to stay sober..."

"No worries, from now on you can get wasted again, I'm there to watch you" Seonghwa laughed and sighed contently into the hug. He had missed his close friend a lot during his time at the service. In the end he had become one of his closest people.

"I don't know what to think about you two being so casual about getting wasted at business gatherings" Seungcheol commented and extented his hand to the younger. "But I'm happy to have you here again" he winked and shook Seonghwa's hand.

"So am I, so am I" he gave back with a beaming smile. His eyes looked behind the couple. "I see we gathered the whole family! Joshua! You made it too?"

"Of course Mr. Kim!" the eldest Choi brother replied and locked his car after his siblings had gotten out. "I'm going to be honest, I wouldn't miss your delicious food for anything!"

"Mhm I see, manners at their best" Seonghwa replied laughing. "Then I won't make this too long! Come on in, Hongjoong already started the grill"

Jeonghan spared a glance to his eldest. "You skip family dinner three times a month- are you saying my food is bad?"

Joshua tipped his lips and scratched the back of his head. "Well you see, have you ever eaten a steak seasoned this good?"

The parent gasped. "How can you say that!"

"You see honey" Seungcheol went in between "I love your food. But be honest to yourself. Nothing tops Seonghwa's seasoning"

"tsk!" Jeonghan scoffed and picked up the lace of his steps. "The disrespect- I've fed a bunch of snakes right underneath my nose!"

Just like the first time, the garden of the Kims was filled with benches and lanterns, grills and people. It had become a tradition to celebrate big events like this, all gathered together at one table. It was like a family reunion, with the family you actually could chose. Like Yonghwan and now Chaewon, or Sora and Yongsun. They had been with Hongjoong since the beginning. But Seungcheol and Jeonghan had become family too, not only business wise, but friendships wise. Seonghwa didn't trust most people, neither did his husband but the Chois had been a stable backbone for them in many ways over the years.

It felt good to know that so many people had their back.

"We're the last ones missing, huh?" the elder said as he sat down next to Sora.

"Ah no worries" Sora replied and filled Seungcheol's glass with water. "we have to wait for the food anyway"

On the other side of the garden, at the 'children's table' Wonwoo and Jihoon scoffed and huffed. "I can't believe we still have to sit here..."

"We're literally 21... And still sit here"

"Ah, just stop complaining. What's even special there?" Jun asked and rolled his eyes, sitting down next to his brothers.

"There is alcohol on that table" Minghao replied instead and the twins nodded agreeing. "That's reason enough"

"You can't get wasted in front of elders-"

"No-one said anything of getting wasted" Jihoon said "Just to keep your mood up is enough"

Jun pressed his lips in a like and spared a look over to the other end of the table where all his younger siblings sat. He was about to disagree with Jihoon but then his eyes caught Seungkwan strangle Seokmin and he changed his mind. "'k I'm getting some"

"I know secretly he is the alcoholic of the family, I know it!" Wonwoo commented and sipped his sprite while following Jun with his eyes. He saw him talk to Joshua for a second, then he returned. Their eldest gave them a judging look from the other side, which they just responded with shoulder-shrugging. They weren't wrong. No matter how much they loved each other, the maximum was three hours and after that they would start a civil war.

~

"Ah~ Seonghwa! Now, how was the service? I see your hair is growing back" Yongsun said and stuffed her mouth with a piece of the steak.

"fortunately it is" Seonghwa replied and brushed through the short hair. "It was... Exciting" he chuckled "they made me the sergeant as I was one of the oldest"

"When I was serving they made me 'man for every thing'. I didn't sleep a second" Yonghwan added "every night someone either tried to somehow escape or steal and then I had to deal with it"

"I once had to bring a dude to the meds because he somehow swallowed his tongue in his sleep. And then the nurse just went into his mouth with her finger and pulled it right back out" Seonghwa told and a shudder rolled down his back at the memories.

"Igh- were eating!-" Chaewon said and held her mouth.

"Light stomach? That's not even the worst that happened" he replied and pressed his lips together.

"Nope, I don't want to hear it" Yongsun responded and waved off Seonghwa "I really want to keep this inside of me you know?" she added and pointed at her plate.

They ate for a moment in silence, then Joshua took word. "Ah, Mr. Kim! This is delicious as always!... What-What's the secret recipe?"

A sneaky grin spread on Seonghwa's lips. "Mhm... Just a little love I would say" he answered and smiled at the younger, a brown risen. The recipes Seonghwa was using were all written down in one of his many journals, all passed down from his mother. Over time he too had inherited her habit of keeping the recipes in the family only. He knew they were good, and as he had promised his mother, he wouldn't dare to spill them.

"Au Seongie~ come, tell us~" Jeonghan sweet-talked sneakily.

"Mhm- isn't it auntie's recipe? The one with-"

Seonghwa held Chaewon's mouth shut and hit his forehead with the other.

"Wait- she knows?" Hongjoong concluded and turned to his husband. "Why can she know and I can't?" he asked, clearly offended.

Yonghwan knitt his brows and turned to his girlfriend. "In these five years you knew how to make this?" he asked "and you never did?"

"congrats, Joshua" Seungcheol whispered to his son "you just started a war"

"I didn't know-" he replied quietly and watched the scene unfold.

"shh- it's getting interesting!" Sora hissed and took a sip from their green glass.

"Hongjoong it's just a recipe please don't do this-"

"But why is she allowed to know?"

"And why did I have to eat all the other stuff when you could have just made this?"

At some point Seonghwa just gave up and slumped down and reached for one of the green bottles under the table, popped open the lid and took a big sip. He shook his head and sighed deeply, just taking the argument that was still going, it wouldn't end soon.

-
Hey! How are you doing today?

So my school is opening next week and my anxiety is going📈📈📈📈
And my will to live is more and more going📉📉📉📉

Well, now I have like three exams per week until February😀

If I do graduate this year, yall istg I'm going to believe in God again-

Ahhh I hope you're all fine

Please stay healthy and safe

-gulkurusubb