Lee Whan almost walked behind his junior but almost ran into him as the other stopped abruptly. Thankfully he stopped the collision at the last minute. He peeked at the phone, which made Haneul freeze in shock, and their friends' group chat - 'Brats From Hell' was open, and Haneul was looking at it as if he saw a ghost.
So he took out his phone and saw the messages in the group. He was not surprised by the distress help message from Haneul. A smile graced Lee Whan's lips at the concern.
He found it endearing that even though Haneul was awkward, he still tried his best to be there for him.
He looked at the nicknames of his friends that never changed over the years, and it somewhat warmed his heart. It was good to know certain things never changed over the years.
'What did his family do now?' Bin Bin's Hae Hae asked.
'Placing entire cash on my wallet on a bet. This time I am sure he was crying due to his mother! God! What's wrong with that woman?!' The True Young Master Kang responded.
Being raised in a military household gave Kang a sense of morality and justice but in a slightly twisted form. He never held back while criticising unfairness, but at the same time, he would toy with people who mess with him and his family.
Lee Whan smiled fondly as he continued reading the group's text.
Hae Hae's Bin Bin sent out lots of laughing gifs before sending out an actual message. 'My bet is on his useless brother. I would never understand why our idiot friend protects that useless brother from us! Honestly, 'Berry' Whan should let us take a swing or two at his brother.'
Lee Whan Knew his best friend Seo Bin was laughing at the comment about his mother but was genuinely furious and wanted to beat the unknown elder brother to a pulp.
His friends really laughed at his misery, but he knew they would never hesitate to be by his side as soon as possible.
'Can I kill his brother already? Please', Cute Ahn, asked casually, and even used the sticker of a child begging with puppy eyes. Everyone knew she was capable of killing someone without a trace. If not, she would not be the boss of a huge mafia syndicate in Asia when she was too young.
These were usual banter in the group, and his friends knew about his family's treatment of him. So Lee Whan was not surprised to know his friends' hatred for his family. He saw some friends complaining about how he still protected his elder brother's identity from them.
Lee Whan knew if they wanted, they could find it very quickly. But they were not doing it because he asked them not to do it.
One thing that always bound them as close friends, even after finishing school long back and moving to different places for the future, was their trust. They all had each other's back, and they knew they could blindly trust their friends after all the hardships they endured together while growing up in boarding school. No matter what, they would not break each other's trust.
Finally, he knew what shocked Choi Haneul. His first love's boyfriend also texted in the group.
'On the way! Will be there in 15.' - Wolf's Little Moon.
Whoever got married or found a partner added their other half to the group once the partner was familiar with all the friends. Haneul's first love also added his boyfriend to the group long back.
The said 'boyfriend' got along well with everyone even though he neither studied in school with them nor shared a long-term bond with them. But his cousins were close to all of them, which gave 'Wolf's Little Moon' a growing edge to get along with everyone quickly.
For the first time in the last few days, Lee Whan laughed from his heart at Choi Haneul's misery.
It only doubled up to realise Haneul looked around the flat and noticed the unpacked boxes and messy house.
Soon everyone started to say how long it would take for them to reach Haneul's place. From 30 minutes to 3 hours, whoever was in the city decided to come over to Haneul's place to help Lee Whan mend his broken heart.
Or they were simply going to drop by for free food and alcohol.
But deep down, Lee Whan knew if not for such reason, without any plan, they would not meet until someone got admitted to the hospital or someone got married. Adult life kept all of them busy.
Choi Haenul used to be a clean freak who preferred to be organised during their school days. After everything that happened in his life and his mother falling into a coma, the boy stopped bothering about being organised.
But now, when he looked around, he started panicking.
Haneul had lots to clean, but he knew it was impossible to complete in fifteen minutes.
Nothing was more embarrassing than letting his first love's boyfriend look at the sorry state he was living in. Even though he shared a good bond with 'the boyfriend', it was still humiliating to let the 'rival' look at him like that.
Even if the rivalry is known only to him and his close friends.
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The chapter is dedicated to Funmilola_85. Thank you for the review <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
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