what better time to open 2022 with bringing back CYZJ memories! cyzj was monumental in the way that was like perennial for 8jun's bond in fandom if ppl weren't alrdy hardcore 8junists, besides junan, so writing this from minghao's pov felt very right to me. it's so nice to hear that you're still keeping up with zzn and wu jiacheng bless his soul T__T i'm really glad minghao and jun's bond showed through the way it did and how deep their friendship is, how much of a rock they are to each other which is so apparent when they're away from the group. i loved putting in the smaller mundane details and thinking about them, as well as angling in the aspect about strategy because it feels very minghao to think about them while jun would take on a different sort of approach, again drawing out differences in their motivations and personalities. minghao being a very head over heart person and having just as big of a heart especially when it comes to loyalty, and jun preferring to go with the flow and take things as it happens, being the social butterfly that he is. i'm really glad you appreciated and enjoyed the realistic portrayal of a conservative society, along with minghao being conflicted, even if out of his best intentions and worries. i had fun writing this while trying to tell a story that is grounding, with real world implications especially with love and letting go of some versions of happiness as you said, in light of very public careers and images, so i'm happy this worked for you! thank you so much for reading.