027: When One Door Closes Another Will Open
Like Stars In the Sky
A week, that's how long Doyeon had given herself to push off telling her grandpa about the letter. A large part of herself wished to push it off even farther, but they only had a week left of their visit, and she didn't want to spend the entire time worrying about the letter. It was silly of her to even still care about it, after all, she'd claimed to have already moved on from it. Which in many ways she had, but growth doesn't mean that the memory of the sheet of paper in her drawer would just disappear. Nor did it mean that reading the letter would be considered her going back to her old self. That was just what she was scared of, and sadly fear easily takes over. So, Doyeon told herself that now that it has been a week, she'd bring it up with her grandfather. Well, that's assuming she can actually find time to speak with him.
"Mr. Nam you did not!" Chenle made a weird noise as he choked on his own laughter.
Grandpa Nam nodded, "I did, you should have seen the man's face when he realized that it was his hat." Both men sighed as they composed themselves, "And please, Chenle, It's Chanyoo to my friends." Doyeon almost scoffed, Chenle looked like his eyes had just gone misty.
"I'm so glad you came to visit, Chanyoo." Chenle said, holding his hand to his heart. Grandpa Nam laughed aloud, slapping his knee in the process.
He looked over at his granddaughter, "The more friends of yours I meet, the more I just want to move out here!" Doyeon had to stop herself from face palming. After Chanyoo's instant click with Jaemin, Doyeon shouldn't even be surprised that he was getting along with her other friends so well. As if her grandfather had read her mind, he immediately started speaking. "Doyeon, you should ask Jaemin to join us for dinner again. I haven't seen him the past couple of days." Doyeon was about to decline, ready to defend herself by saying he's probably been busy...but then she thought about it, she also hadn't seen Jaemin around.
"Have you met Jeno yet, Chanyoo?" Chenle asked, momentarily distracting Doyeon from the previous topic.
Chanyoo clasped his hands, "I did, I did, he's such a sweet boy." He turned his head to Doyeon, "Why don't you invite him as well, your grandma is making plenty of food." Doyeon really was going to say how she didn't think a last minute invitation was a good idea, but the topic had already changed yet again. "Chenle, have I already told you about the time my friend and I snuck into the zoo past hours?"
Chenle shook his head, "No, but I can't say I'm surprised!"
Doyeon was convinced she couldn't bear hearing their loud chatter any longer--plus she'd already heard that story--so she decided to go deal with inviting Jeno and Jaemin over. She shut the door behind her as she grabbed her phone from her back pocket.
"Hello?" Jeno's voice crackled alive from the other end of the call.
Doyeon plopped herself down on the edge of her bed, "Hey, my grandpa wanted me to invite you over for dinner."
It was silent for a minute, then he suddenly spoke in a determined voice. "I'll be there." Within two seconds the call had ended, leaving a perplexed Doyeon. She wasn't sure if it was just in her mind, but Jeno had been acting about as funny as Jaemin recently. They both pulled her into conversations, even more than before, and seemed over all...more attentive? She wasn't sure how to put it exactly. In hindsight, it should probably make her feel special, but it always ended up making her a bit suspicious. Doyeon shrugged, ready to move onto calling Jaemin, before she could though, the sound of her balcony door handle being shaken took her attention. A small smile lit up her face as she walked over to open it. As if mirroring her own, Jaemin smiled down at her as soon as the door was opened.
"Good, you're home." He said before moving into the room, flinging himself onto her desk chair. "I was wondering if you've heard anything about the senior trip? I didn't know it was even a thing, but my dad was mentioning something about the price of it to my mom."
Doyeon raised an eyebrow, "Senior trip? I heard about it last year, but I don't know much about it." She said, sitting on her bed across from the chair he was in. Jaemin hummed, knowing he wasn't going to get the information he'd come over seeking.
"Are you going to go?" Jaemin asked, "On the trip I mean." He tacked on. Doyeon shrugged, she wasn't much of a school trip person. "You better, you can't send me off alone with the guys." Jaemin had a bit of a whine to his voice, which wasn't on purpose.
Doyeon snorted, "What do you think will happen?" She asked, curious what his mind could come up with.
"Haechan will start a brawl and we'll all get suspended, all because Mark said something slightly offensive to him." The mental image was actually very easy to picture. "You can't do that to us, Doyeon." Jaemin clasped his hands in front of himself.
Doyeon thought for a minute. This would be her last chance to go on a high school trip...."I'll probably go." She finally said. Jaemin broke out into an even wider grin.
"Great, you better not back out." He warned, starting to stand up. Doyeon had momentarily forgotten the entire reason she needed to talk to Jaemin.
"Oh," her voice made him stop in his tracks. "My grandpa wants you to have dinner with us, Chenle's here too, and Jeno's coming." Doyeon said, her voice kind of trailing off by the end. It was such a last minute invitation, but she wanted him to say yes. She wouldn't admit it, but she enjoyed having the guys over for dinner. Even Chenle, who continued to make himself a permanent guest in her home.
Jaemin pretended to think about it, just long enough to not make himself sound too eager. "I suppose I can."
Doyeon smiled lightly, "Great."
~~~~~
Nam Chanyoo has always been known for being very...perceptive. Maybe his senses had just been heightened from back in the day when he briefly worked at his towns police station. He liked to think he was just born that way though, he'd even like to claim that it was a gene that he passed down to Doyeon. But, as he looked around the table, he was beginning to think she wasn't quite as quick-witted about matters that surrounded herself. Chanyoo clasped his hands in front of him, resting his elbows on the sides of his dinner chair. "Jeno, did your grandma try out those heating pads for her shoulder?" Chanyoo's wife suddenly asked, drawing him out of his thoughts. A bit earlier into the week, both Doyeon's grandparents had the pleasure of meeting Jeno's grandmother. They all got along nicely, which didn't surprise Doyeon seeing as how she too got on with Grandma Lee.
Jeno sent a grateful smile to Grandma Nam as he spoke, "She did, she s
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