"You should go before anyone sees you" I said to Jaebum who didn't have a care in the world. "Even if they did, what can they do? I have the right to be wherever I want and do whatever I please"

I rolled my eyes at this. This guy, honestly..

"Hyung, seriously. Go home. If you don't care about yourself getting in trouble, care about me getting in trouble" I said to which he paused for a moment. "Fine.." He grumbled, jumping off my garden wall.

"I'll see you tomorrow then" He said, waving before walking away. I smiled to myself, watching him leave before realising that I needed to get inside.

I would be in a so much load of trouble.

As soon as I set foot through the door, I was greeted by my angry mother.

"Choi Youngjae, where have you been? Your shift ended a long time ago and you should have been home" Shit.

"I was talking with my friend" I mumbled. "Jinyoung?" She questioned and I simply nodded my head since I didn't want to tell her the truth. She let out a sigh. "You need to tell me these things, Youngjae. Otherwise I get really worried"

I smiled slightly and nodded my head. "Sorry, mum.."

"There's dinner in the kitchen. I have a night shift so I'm going to leave soon." She said, walking away up the stairs.

I hummed a response, making my way to the kitchen to get some food to eat. My phone buzzed but I ignored it for that time since I was really hungry.

As I heated up the food, my mind wandered to the events that previously ocurred. Did I really just make up with Jaebum hyung after all these years?

Should I actually let him back into my life?

"Jae"

I almost had a heart attack when Soohyun hyung suddenly called my name. I turned around and frowned. "Hyung, you scared me" I mumbled before continuing to do what I was doing.

"We need to talk" His voice sounded serious and that scared me slightly. What could he possibly want to talk about? All the possible bad things in my head were suddenly coming to mind.

Then a thought occurred that caused me to freeze. What if he saw me with Jaebum hyung?

I hope he didn't. His room is at the back of the house. Unless he was in my room or the bathroom, there was no way he would've seen me.

"What about?" I asked. Fortunately, my mother came into the kitchen to grab her keys, delaying our talk a little. "I'm gonna head off on now, boys. Don't sleep too late, you both have work tomorrow. Love you guys" She kissed my forehead and then my brother's, before leaving.

The sound of the front door closing left the whole house in silence. I grabbed my plate and walked towards the dining table, trying to avoid eye contact with my brother. It didn't end well since he took a seat opposite me.

"Jinyoung called a while back," He spoke.

Ah, shit.

"He was asking if you had reached home. You were supposed to text him or something" I shoved a spoonful of food into my mouth so I didn't have to comment on anything.

"But you weren't home. You said you were with Jinyoung, didn't you? He didn't seem to know that you were with him"

I hate it when he beats around the bush.

"So tell me, where were you and who were you really with?" He questioned. I slowly raised my head to look at him, debating whether or not I should tell him the truth.

"Just tell me honestly. I won't get mad, I just want to know"

I let out a sigh, leaning back in my chair. "I.. kinda met up with Jaebum hyung" I mumbled.

"You what?"

"Before you say anything, I didn't willingly go to meet him. He just showed up when I was talking to his brother" I commented, trying to defend myself but it didn't really help.

"Why were you meeting with Hyunjae? You know that mum will go crazy if she knows that you've contacted them again" He said, causing me to frown.

"I didn't do anything bad, though. All I did was talk" I said. "She doesn't want you near them at all. Especially with Jaebum. I actually agree with her"

I gave him an are-you-being-serious look. Hypocrital much?

"Yet you constantly meet him and defend him when mum shouts at you for meeting him?"

Hyung heaved a sigh. "That's different and you know it. I've been around Jaebum for a long time but you've lost contact with him for the past five years. He's changed. And I'm not going to lie, he's quite unpredictable at times. I just want you to be safe"

I knew what he was saying was right and I understand him but I want to feel like I have the choice to decide if I want to see Jaebum or not.

"You don't understand, hyung. I miss him.. He was the only person I had in my life who actually cared for me and treated me as if I was special. I want him back"

Hyung looked at me with pity, reaching over to grab my hand. "You do realise what he's like now, right?" He asked in a soft voice. I slowly nodded my head. "I do. But I also know that the old Jaebum hyung is still there. I'm not afraid anymore, hyung"

He thought for a while before speaking. "I can't believe I'm saying this but.. you're 18 now so I shouldn't tell you how to live your life. See Jaebum if you want to. But I swear, if he influences you in any way then I am ending it. Okay?"

A huge smile broke out on my face once I heard that. "Thank you, hyung. But don't worry, I won't fully accept him back into my life unless he changes. And I want to change him back"

Hyung smiled at me, nodding. "Okay. Eat up. I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow"

~

A/N: i get that some people would think that yj is childish or whatever for not liking jb being all about drugs and gang shit but tbh in my personal opinion, if you don't like it, you shouldn't be forced to be okay with it. but you also shouldn't  hate on a person if they are about that life 🤷🏽‍♀️