Chapter Text
“Hyung, where did you put my hair dryer!” Jungwon’s piercing voice sounded through the entire apartment, making Sunoo scoff and roll his eyes.
“Bitch, I don’t fucking have your hair dryer! It’s not my fault you keep misplacing stuff!”
“A simple I don’t know would’ve been enough?! You’re so fucking petty all the damn time, no wonder Sunghoon Hyung dumped your ass.” Jungwon tched and Sunoo gasped in offense from where he was.
“Talk to me when you and Jay finally stop running in circles around each other, okay? One of us is a coward, and it’s not me.” Sunoo continued throwing tops and shirts into his suitcase, mentally ticking those off his list.
“Bitch- I don’t confess to him because I don’t want to, not because I’m scared to??”
Sunoo cackled. “Me when I lie.”
“Believe it or not, I don’t care. Are you packing our instant ramen?”
“Why should I be the one to pack those! You know I have to pack all my makeup and my skincare, where should I even fit instant ramen?!”
Jungwon laughed while neatly folding up his socks and placing them into a little bag. “I don’t care where you put them, just put them somewhere.”
“What’s even in your suitcase that you can’t take them with you? Last time I checked, you only had to pack clothes and hygiene products.”
“Yes, and?” Jungwon shrugged.
Sunoo felt himself flush red in irritation. “Bitch, I’ll show you ‘yes, and’! If you want to take the stupid instant ramen you can pack them yourself, or they’ll stay here.”
“So you want us to starve?”
“We’re not flying to the fucking end of the world Jungwonie! Japan has convenience stores, too! We can literally buy them there!” Sunoo’s pulse was accelerating. If he was in the same room as Jungwon, he would’ve long choked his best friend.
“Oh, so you wanna waste money instead? You’re a victim of capitalism!”
Sunoo tapped his feet and tried to calm himself down before he did something he shouldn’t. Something like barging into Jungwon’s room, opening the window, and throwing his friend out of it.
“You’re lucky I’m not with you right now.” He mumbled, quiet enough for Jungwon not to hear.
Jungwon only let out an exhale before standing up and looking around his room. “Anyway….have you seen my hair dryer?”
Sunoo let out the loudest groan known to humanity. “Jungwon!”
It had been a week since Sunoo’s life was turned upside down- It had been a week since Sunghoon broke up with him and it had also been a week since Jay proposed the Japan trip to their friend group.
Their flight took off tomorrow, so Sunoo and Jungwon were last-minute packing which was…only semi-successful.
Sunoo had stayed true to his word and spent the entire last week perched on the sofa, either crying his heart out or binge-watching K-drama after K-drama. The only time he had gone out was to follow Jungwon out to the supermarket.
Cooking and cleaning had been Jungwon’s task for the entirety of the past week, so Sunoo couldn’t even blame Jungwon for being hella annoying right now- he deserved it after taking such good care of Sunoo the last week.
“Sunoo hyung, how are you feeling?” Jungwon popped his head through the door to Sunoo’s room. After letting Sunoo cry on his shoulder for hours on end, multiple times in the past few days, he needed to know how Sunoo was truly holding up.
Tomorrow he would see Sunghoon again, and that would surely be stressing him out a lot.
Sunoo stopped folding his T-shirts and instead looked at Jungwon. He weakly smiled before nodding. First slowly, and then faster.
“I don’t think I’m okay, Wonie. But I will be, eventually.”
Jungwon was quick to agree with Sunoo, fully moving into the room. “Right! It’s okay to be hurt and vulnerable for some time. But you will end up being okay, I can assure you of that!”
“You’re right. And I’m way too excited for this trip to let it be ruined by Sunghoon Hyung!”
“Yes!! It’ll be so much fun, trust me! We will eat so many cute treats and take a lot of nice pictures for our Instagram feed!”
Sunoo smiled widely. “Oh, you’re so right! I already packed cute ass fits, you better slay with your camera skills…”
Jungwon rolled his eyes. “Duh, that’s a given.”
Just then the doorbell suddenly rang, confusing the two of them. “Are you expecting someone?” Sunoo asked his best friend, but Jungwon only shrugged and shook his head.
“Not that I know of. Let me go check it out.” He excused himself from Sunoo’s room and walked to their entrance. Jungwon quickly peeked through the hole to see who it was and sighed once he realized that the person standing on the other side was indeed familiar.
He was quick to open the door. “Jay hyung, what brings you here?”
Jay looked at Jungwon, his smile dropping. “What a nice way to greet your hyung, whom you haven’t seen in more than a week.”
Jungwon sighed. “Hyung, we saw each other three days ago…”
Jay invited himself in, pushing past the door and Jungwon. “We did not actually! I coincidentally met you and Sunoo at the Supermarket because the two of you have been holed up in here for more than a week now.”
Jungwon gaped at Jay’s audacity. “Uh?? Come in- I guess…?”
Jay took off his shoes and neatly placed them on the shoe rack, as he did with his Jacket. “Thanks.” he only said and Jungwon couldn’t even hide his scoff as he closed the door.
“What brings you here, hyung,” Jungwon asked again, but it barely even sounded like a question and more like an accusation.
“Well. I wanted to check in on you two!” Jay happily exclaimed as he took in the mess that their apartment was. They were packing, okay? It was allowed to look messy for the change.
“Sunoo-ya, your Jay hyung is here!” Jay yelled, smiling widely as the door to Sunoo’s room opened.
Sunoo took in his two friends standing there with a blank expression before turning to Jungwon. “Wonie, what is he doing here…?”
Jay pouted, much to Jungwon’s embarrassment. “Is that a way to greet your hyung you haven’t seen in years?!”
Sunoo blinked. “Uh…?”
As a silence settled between the three, Jay kept looking between Jungwon and Jay. “Damn, what kind of atmosphere is going on in here? Why do you two look like you haven’t seen the sunlight in years?”
“Hyung, we’re packing.” Jungwon shortly answered, before moving into the kitchen, finally packing up those damned packages of instant ramen.
“Well, I'm relieved to see you are! I wasn’t sure because neither of you said a whole lot the past week, so I didn’t know if you guys were coming or not…” Jay was starting to feel weird about this entire situation. Sunoo and Jungwon were never like this- for the first time he felt like he was intruding.
Yeah, Sunoo and Jungwon were a duo and had been friends for long before they met the other guys, but Jay had never felt like they were two separate groups. Well- not until now, at least…
It felt like he was missing out on some huge context clues.
Jungwon moved past Jay and into his room. On the other hand, Sunoo sighed before emerging from his room. “Hyung, can I offer you something to drink?” He asked, never forgetting his hospitality.
“Water would be fine..” Jay answered as he trailed after Sunoo like a lost puppy. He took a seat on a stool next to their kitchen counter and watched Sunoo pour him a glass of water.
“Here. I don’t know if we have a lot of food left though…” He quickly peeked into their fridge, finding some leftover fruits. “We still have this! Wonie and I were planning on ordering Takeout tonight so that no fresh food can expire.”
“Thanks, Sunoo-ya.” Jongseong only spoke before reaching for some strawberries. “Is everything alright here?” Jay looked around the apartment which didn’t seem too different from usual, to be honest.
“Sunghoon hyung broke up with me.”
Jay choked on his strawberry, coughing strongly. “What?”
“Sunghoon Hyung broke up with me, I said.” Sunoo pouted and reached for some grapes himself.
Jay stared at Sunoo, waiting for him to start laughing and telling him this was a joke. But Sunoo only stared back with swollen tear bags, watery eyes and a sad expression.
Jay didn’t know what to say, what was even going on?
“Wait- Hoon broke up with you…?” Jay sat up in his chair.
Sunoo only nodded before standing up. “Yeah, last Friday. He just called it quits.” He threw away some random paper he found on their counter.
“Wait, but- he didn’t say anything?” Jay shared an apartment with Jake and Sunghoon, and apart from Sunghoon being present more often in the past week, nothing had seemed really different to him.
Sunoo let out a bitter chuckle. “Doesn’t surprise me. But Wonie has been helping me through the breakup the past week, don’t blame him for not dedicating as much time to you guys as usual.”
Jay looked after Sunoo, still in shock. This was not what he expected at all- Sunghoon and Sunoo hadn’t even come across as a couple that was going through a rough time. They had seemed as if they were in their honeymoon phase, even after two years of dating. The breakup didn’t make a lot of sense to him.
So while Sunoo has been crying for days on end Sunghoon didn’t even deem it necessary to express such a huge change in their lives? Because yes, while this initially only concerned the two of them, it extended to the rest of them.
“Sunoo-ya, I’m sorry,” Jay spoke, sounding defeated.
Sunoo managed a wry smile. “It’s okay. Or, well- it’s not really, but it will be. Eventually. Hopefully.”
Jay didn’t understand it, couldn’t understand it. Why did Sunghoon do this?
“Do you want me to pick you guys up tomorrow morning? So you won’t have to ride with Sunghoon?” Jay offered, because what else could he do right now? How could he even help Sunoo?
“I’d appreciate that a lot, hyung.” Sunoo easily agreed. “Also, don’t worry too much about me ruining the trip! I’ll try not to think about it too much and I am sure I will definitely enjoy it!”
Jay minutely nodded. “Alright, sun. But if you ever feel uncomfortable or just- unwell in any sense, don’t hesitate to tell me.”
Sunoo giggled and nodded. “Of course, hyung. You might wanna leave soon though, because I can’t assure you that Jungwon won’t bite you. He’s been a bit….belligerent recently.”
Jay drew in a sharp breath. “You want me gone. I get it, I get it.” He threw up his hands as if he was surrendering and sunoo giggled at his hyung.
“Hyuuung, you know it’s not like that!”
Jay playfully rolled his eyes. “Sure, sure. If you say so…” He stood up from the stool and walked back to the door.
Sunoo was still laughing as he followed his hyung to the front door.
He watched as Jay put his shoes and Jacket back on, before turning around to face Sunoo again.
“Alright, I’m off for now. I’ll be here tomorrow morning by six, is that okay?”
“Yup, sounds perfect.”
Jay hummed. “Great. Also…get Jungwon something to eat. If you need me to pay for it, just let me know.”
“Just for Jungwonie? Wow, the blatant favoritism is crazy.” Sunoo groaned and rolled his eyes, making Jay lightly push him by the shoulder.
“You know it’s not like that.” He smiled at Sunoo and opened the door. “Take it easy Sunoo, okay?”
“Hm.” Sunoo nodded and smiled as Jay walked out of the door with a wave. “See you tomorrow!”
True to his words, about an hour later their doorbell rang again, but this time it was a delivery boy with takeout boxes. The food that arrived surely did manage to lift Jungwon’s spirit, because just a while later the boy was seen jumping and dancing around the apartment while he finished packing his suitcase, even going as far as offering Sunoo to help him pack his own.
And another few hours later, Jay rang their doorbell again, this time ready to drive them to the airport. Jungwon and Sunoo had not really slept that night, finding themselves unable to due to the excitement they were experiencing.
“Don’t worry, hyung. We can sleep on the plane!” Jungwon had said, and Sunoo had found himself agreeing with the younger.
“Alright, are you guys ready to go?” Jay asked, standing in their doorway.
There were two huge suitcases right and left of him, and Sunoo and Jungwon were running through the apartment one last time, turning off all the electricity outlets and closing all the windows.
“Yes, Hyung!” Jungwon exclaimed, putting on his shoes. Sunoo hid a spare key in the plant pot right next to their door. It was for whenever his sister Minjeong decided to come over and water his babies, so they wouldn’t die while he was away.
“Perfect, let’s get going then. Jake’s waiting in the car already.”
“Jake Hyung is driving with us?!” Jungwon questioned and Jay could only sigh.
“He’s somehow always broke, won…It was either I drive him or he walked to the airport.” Jay sounded very exhausted. He sometimes felt like Jake’s parent.
“You’re like- his sugar daddy at this point. What does he give you in return?” Sunoo drew up a brow.
“A headache. A severe one, too.”
“Let’s just…get going already.” Jungwon reached for his suitcase and dragged it behind him.
“Let me take this,” Jay spoke, grabbing the suitcase before Jungwon could express any ounce of refusal. Sunoo smiled at the display- those two were so obviously in love and he didn’t understand why they just didn’t…confess to each other!
They were basically already going out at this point, so what was a label more or less?
The three of them locked up behind them and used the elevator to get down. Sunoo felt his stomach churn a bit- if it was in excitement or anxiety, he couldn’t tell, but he sure hoped it was the former. He tried to keep his thoughts positive, tried not to overthink the entire Sunghoon situation, and instead imagined how beautiful Japan would be.
When he told Minjeong he was going to Japan before her, she spent an entire hour threatening him with decapitation if he didn’t send her pictures, videos and voice messages every single minute of his trip. He had tried pulling the heartbroken sibling card and demanded that she be more gentle with him, but all she had said was that she knew he was a bad bitch and that no man should ever be able to make him miserable.
Sunoo had found himself agreeing with what she said and had promised her regular updates.
“Hey, pookies and pookers.” Jake stood leaning against Jay’s car as they emerged from the apartment complex. He smiled and waved as he saw his friends for the first time in a long while.
“What’s a pooker,” Jungwon asked, heading to the trunk and opening it. He beckoned Jay closer so that the older could put their suitcases away.
“The male form of pookie, what else?” Jake shrugged and Sunoo held back a snort.
“Pookie, there is no male form for the word pookie,” Jay explained and Jake tilted his head in confusion.
“Does that mean people think men can’t be pookies?”
“No, Hyung. It means the word pookie can be used for both men and women. All genders, actually!”
Jake ahhed. “I think I get it!” He spoke and opened the door to the passenger seat.
Jay clicked his tongue. “No, let Jungwon take the passenger seat.”
“It’s fine, Jay Hyung! I’ll just sit with Sunoo Hyungie.” Jungwon quickly butted in, opening the door and sliding onto the back seat. Jay only let out a frustrated sigh and glared at Jake before rounding the car and settling into the driver's seat.
“Um. Do you know why he’s mad?” Jake asked Sunoo, genuine confusion visible on his face and Sunoo only smiled and shook his head.
“Don’t worry about it hyungie.” He patted Jake’s shoulder and went to sit down himself, leaving Jake all by himself.
“Weird ass people everywhere…” Jake sighed before joining his friends in the car.
Japan should get ready, the coolest friend group was coming after all!
It took them about an hour to reach the airport. While they were on the way, Jay tried calling Heeseung to make sure the other two were on their way as well, and to no surprise, he had actually ended up being the one to wake Heeseung up.
Sunghoon had been banging against Heeseung’s dorm and Jay had felt himself grow gray hairs from all the stress and frustration.
It didn’t matter too much though- Heeseung had already packed and only took 20 minutes to get ready and start driving. Also, their flight didn’t take off until 10:30 am, Jay just liked being overly punctual.
So it was about seven thirty am when the group reached the airport and decided to grab a quick breakfast first before checking in.
They all sat down in a little cafe in the airport, ordering drinks and treats.
“Jay, can I have some of your blueberry cake?” Jake asked with a sheepish grin, pointing at said cake.
Jay only blinked before pushing the cake over with a sigh.
“Hyung, you should start paying for your own stuff. You can’t always rely on Jay Hyung.” Jungwon reprimanded, brows deeply furrowed.
Jake shrugged and spoke with his mouth full- “Nah- Jay wasn’t gonna eat it all anyway, I’m just recycling before it ends in the trash can!”
“He’s right. I actually already ate something this morning, and we’re also getting breakfast on the plane- I don’t even know why I bought this.”
“And you keep enabling him! You’re just as bad!” Jungwon accused him, and Jay’s forehead creased in offense.
“Guys- this is a lovely argument but we shouldn’t waste more time here than we have to, right?” Sunoo spoke up, spotting Sunghoon and Heeseung from far away.
“Right.” Jake easily agreed, shoveling down the cake. It slapped, he had to admit.
“I think I can see Heeseung hyung and Sunghoon hyung.” Jungwon now spoke up from next to Sunoo, leaning closer to the other so he could have a better view. Jay turned around and started waving at the others.
“Heeseung hyung! Sunghoon-ah!” He greeted the others.
Heeseung sported an eager smile and was quick to greet everyone back, while Sunghoon simply nodded at the others.
Not even sparing Sunoo a glance.
Sunoo felt Jungwon grab his hand under the table in a silent way of expressing his support. Sunoo appreciated Jungwon so much.
“Good morning Heeseungie Hyung. Morning Sunghoon hyung.” Sunoo spoke, trying his best to appear civil. For their friendship’s sake.
“Morning Sunoo-ya! Are you already excited” Heeseung asked, letting himself down onto one of the remaining wooden chairs.
Sunoo simply nodded with a tight-lipped smile.
“Morning,” Sunghoon said, not really addressing anyone but the sound of his voice alone made Sunoo’s heart constrict painfully.
He missed Sunghoon so much.
Jungwon tightly held Sunoo’s hand as a way to ground him and it did seem to work wonders. Sunoo tried his best to keep up with the conversation between Jake and Heeseung about eels and snakes and who was more dangerous and vicious.
Another 30 minutes later, at 8:30 am they were all ready to leave and start checking in. As they walked together in a group, Sunoo made sure to walk as far away from Sunghoon as possible.
Jake and Heeseung didn’t know what was going on (unless Jay had told them, which Sunoo didn’t believe), and he would like to keep it that way. He already felt bad for impacting their friend group in this way, and he wasn’t going to ruin this trip for the others as well.
Jay walked the other five through the whole process of checking in and boarding the flight, and a whole while later they were all buckling their seats on the airplane.
Jake was buzzing in excitement and even Jungwon was smiling so widely that his dimples were visible.
“Let’s fucking go!” Jake cheered and the others found themselves agreeing. They were all very excited for the next few weeks they’d get to spend together.
Sunoo was overly conscious of Sunghoon who ended up sitting right behind him on their flight. Was Sunghoon even thinking of him still? Was Sunghoon just as heartbroken as Sunoo was?
A part of him wished they could at least talk it out. That way he’d maybe receive answers to his numerous questions, and maybe it’d help him find closure. But the other, bigger, pettier part of him was telling him that Sunghoon could go fuck himself and that he would not be the one to run after a man.
He was the prize, after all.
‘Get yourself together.’ Sunoo whispered to himself, deeply inhaling and exhaling.
He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, imagining himself and his friends in Japan, sightseeing and trying out cute cafes. He’d have to buy some souvenirs for his sister and mom, too, now that he thought of it.
Sunoo spent the remainder of the flight dozing off because the next time he came to himself was when a female voice rang from the speakers, letting the passengers know that they’d touch down in foreseeable time.
Next to him, Jungwon was quickly finishing up his seaweed egg soup. “We’re almost there, Hyung!”
And they were! A whole while later, the six of them were leaving the airport with their luggage in their hands, oohing and ahhing at everything they saw- in reality, Japan wasn’t that different from what they were used to, it was probably just the feeling of being in a new country for the first time that made them this excited.
“I’ll get us cabs, alright?” Jay started, looking around and hoping to find any cabs or at least people who seemed like they could help.
“Do you need Papago to translate?” Heeseung asked, reaching for his phone.
Jay shook his head. “I’m not fluent in Japanese only to use Papago when I actually get here.” He smirked and winked before running to a man who stood next to a cab, smoking.
The remaining five stood there dumbly, not knowing what to say or do.
“Okay. That was lowkey hot…” Jungwon admitted, his cheeks flushed a light pink.
Sunoo sharply turned to Jungwon, eyes wide in bewilderment. “You’re not serious…” he breathed out but Jungwon only smiled and shrugged, casting his gaze downwards.
Was a guy not allowed to be in love?
“Why didn’t I know he was fluent in Japanese?” Jake asked, forehead creased.
“I think none of us really knew…” Heeseung quipped, and Sunoo nodded in agreement.
“Right? He never once mentioned anything like this..” But it somehow made everything a lot easier already.
“Guys! They can take us!” Jay yelled from where he stood, waving the rest to him. “Okay, so we’re going to split into two groups. Three people drive with him and the rest get on the second cab.”
“I’m staying with Sunoo.” Jungwon raised his hand.
“What’s new…okay, Heeseung Hyung, you wanna ride with me?” Jake proposed and Heeseung nodded.
“I’m gonna tag along,” Sunghoon spoke, addressing Jake and Heeseung.
“Alright, it’s set then. Jungwon and Sunoo ride with me and the three of you wait here for the second cab and come along later.”
Jay reached for the two youngest suitcases and handed them to the driver.
“But-” Jake started, unsure about it all.
“Also don’t worry about saying anything, I’ve given them the address and paid. They’ll know where to drop you off.”
Sunoo and Jungwon got into the back seats. “We’ll be off. See you guys soon.” Jay got into the passenger seat and before the other three knew, they were all alone.
“Great.” Heeseung deflated.
Twenty minutes later they were dropped off at a tranquil compound. The house Jay’s parents owned was located in a rural area with lots of healthy-looking trees and small lakes placed all over the premises. The house appeared like a traditional Japanese home with intricate wooden details and extraordinary roof architecture.
There were many windows and sliding doors all around the house and it gave off a homey feeling, immediately making Jungwon and Sunoo feel at home.
Moving inside the house seemed to be structured in a square shape, sporting a green garden in the very middle of it all, which you could access from every room on the ground floor. The rooms were held in warm red, brown and beige tones, making the entire place feel warmer than it actually was.
“This is gorgeous..” Jungwon commented, walking around the kitchen which was huge and centered around a counter that hid three stools on each side under it. Meaning you could either use the free space to cook or also serve dishes.
“Jungwonie, come look at this!” Sunoo called from the living room. The living room held a very low table and various hassocks around it as well as a huge sliding door that would lead you to the beautiful garden.
“Woah, it’s so pretty in here,” Jungwon spoke in amazement, already loving it here.
The house was decorated so prettily and even though no one had lived there in quite a while, it looked well taken care of.
“Let’s go check out the sleeping chambers!” Sunoo pulled Jungwon with him up the stairs.
The two of them found three bedrooms upstairs, each of them adjacent to a bathroom.
The rooms were large and bright, with a lot of sunlight streaming into them. There was a king-sized bed right in the middle and little bedside tables on each side. A vivid painting of a sakura tree was hung right above the bed, bestowing the room its own individual touch.
Jungwon let himself fall right onto the mattress, letting out a deep sigh. “I can’t believe we’re actually in Japan now.”
“It’s crazy, right?” Sunoo joined his best friend on the bed, taking out his phone and snapping a few selcas with Jungwon.
“Now that we’re here, we should practice our Japanese.” Jungwon sounded motivated and Sunoo snorted.
“What makes you think I don’t already know basic Japanese?”
“Um? The fact that we went to the same high school and shared the same classes and you always failed Japanese?”
Sunoo hid his face in embarrassment. “Okay, rude!? Also, that was back then! I know how to say stuff now!”
Jungwon sat up. “Alright. Introduce yourself to me.”
“Uhm. Watashi wa Sunoo desu? No, wait- watashi no namae wa Sunoo desu!” Sunoo grinned and Jungwon only rolled his eyes.
“You’re so boring. Let’s Download Duolingo and speed race through the courses. That way we can hopefully learn a lot.”
“Fine, mom.” Sunoo huffed. The two turned onto their stomachs with their phones in their hands as they downloaded the Green Bird application.
Downstairs, Jay was welcoming the three remaining boys while simultaneously getting the kitchen ready for usage.
“I’m hungry.” Jake proclaimed, rubbing his belly.
“When are you not? It’s like your stomach is a black hole at this point.” Sunghoon snide remarked.
“Is a man not allowed to be hungry or what?”
“Well, not if the man is you, my guy.” Sunghoon patted Jake’s shoulder, making the other glare.
“Whatever that means…”
“It means that you’re insatiable, Jake. You didn’t even take off your shoes or jacket yet. What do you think of the house? Have you been upstairs to check the rooms out?”
“Sunghoon, don’t be so mean to him,” Jay spoke up from where he was leaning over his phone.
“Thank you for your useless comments, Hoon. They were almost as useless as you.” Jake deadpanned and Heeseung could only watch the two bicker. He was used to it by now. How Jake and Sunghoon were still friends was beyond him, since all they really did was throw insults at each other.
“Jungwon-ah! Sunoo-ya! Come downstairs!” Jay yelled through the house.
“I’m not the useless one, just saying.” Sunghoon scoffed.
“You literally are. All you contribute to our friend group are useless comments. Sounds like a useless person to me.”
“Well, at least I don’t live off the funds of others. Where’s your shame?”
“Um. What is going on here…?” Jungwon hesitantly asked as he walked into the kitchen space.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about those idiots. I am going to order takeout for lunch since we haven’t done any shopping today and you guys might be too tired to. Any wishes?” Jay asked.
The boys all huddled closer to Jay, trying to see what their options were.
“Jungwon? What’s it gonna be for you?” Jay definitely had favorites, it was so obvious.
“Hmmm, I think I’m going to choose the tuna mayo sushi. And the gyoza.”
“Sunoo?”
Sunoo narrowed his eyes at the menu. “I think I want some Miso Soup. Can I also get some Tempura Futo Maki?”
“Sure thing. Noted. Jake?”
“Oh, you’re not ready for this.” The boy rubbed his hands together and let out a victorious laugh. “Get me spring rolls and Edamame as an appetizer. Then I want Spicy teriyaki chicken maki with rice and of course some wakame salad for balance. For dessert, I want some mochi and cake. preferably strawberry mochi and tiramisu cake.”
“I-“ Jay started, having lost the thread a long time ago.
“It’s crazy how you know all the names of dishes I have never heard of,” Heeseung said, sounding genuinely astounded.
“Uh. Anyway. Heeseung hyung, what do you want to eat?” Jay simply wrote down whatever caught his eye first for Jake, that guy would eat anything anyway.
“Just get me some sushi. I’d rather talk about the room distribution. Who is rooming with whom?”
Jungwon and Sunoo immediately looked at each other and communicated in silence before Jungwon spoke up, “I'm rooming with Sunoo Hyung.”
Jay deflated, but he understood. Usually, he’d insist on getting to share with Jungwon, but he knew better. “Alright. Sunghoon and I should room then, and Heeseung Hyung and Jake can take the third room. Is that fine with everyone?”
Collective nods and hums were heard from the others. “Anyway. Sunghoon, you're the last one. What do you want to eat?”
Sunoo did his best to remain calm as the entire attention was now focused on Sunghoon.
The said person stood up and reached for his phone.
“I’m gonna skip lunch for today, I’m meeting up with a friend. She’s waiting for me already. I hope this doesn’t bother any of you?” His question wasn’t that much of a question as he didn’t even wait for anyone to answer before he headed to the entrance to grab his jacket.
“Just leave my suitcase there, I’ll unpack it when I return home tonight.” He shortly waved before he left the house, leaving behind five dumbfounded men.
“Weird….anyway! Jay, have you ordered?” Jake’s attention was quickly redirected and the others followed suit.
“Are you okay, Sunoo?” Jungwon asked, trying to make eye contact with his best friend but Sunoo didn’t seem interested in that.
Despite it all, he nodded.
“You don’t seem okay, hyung…” Jungwon reached for Sunoo’s hand, lightly exerting pressure on it.
“Jungwonie, how about you go upstairs with Sunoo? I’ll let you guys know when the food arrives.” Jay suggested and Jungwon nodded before he pulled Sunoo with him.
“I don’t get it, wonie. How did he move on so fast? Isn’t he hurting?” Was the last thing they heard Sunoo say before the two youngest were gone.
There was a loud silence between the three before Heeseung loudly gasped.
“Wait- Hoon and Sun broke up?!” Heeseung exclaimed and Jay could only nod. Jake’s jaw dropped as his brain was running 100 miles per hour.
“Oh. So this is why…” Jake whispered, making the other two look at him.
“This is why what?” Jay hadn’t been able to get a thing out of Sunghoon the night he confronted the other. Except for a ‘Breakups happen, people grow apart, it’s normal’ he hadn’t gotten any other information from Sunghoon.
Jake shook his head. “Never mind…” but his eyebrows were furrowed, his forehead was creased and he seemed deeply sunken in thought.
Jay reluctantly ordered the food before leaving the kitchen. What a great way to start their joint holiday.
Someone had to give those boys credit.
They tried lifting Sunoo’s spirits- Heeseung and Jake bickered over the right way to put on their blankets, Jay kept giving Sunoo some of his food and Jungwon even suggested watching Frozen again.
And it did work to an extent. Sunoo forgot about Sunghoon for the remainder of that day. He spent the day laughing over his friend’s bad jokes, surviving a really bad Japanese crash course by Jay Hyung, and cheering on a makeshift fashion show by Jake Jungwon and Heeseung.
They did their best to lift his spirits and make him feel better, they truly did.
And yet he cried himself to sleep that night after seeing a new Instagram post by Sungoon, featuring a girl he had never seen before.
They looked close and comfortable with each other. A bit too close and comfortable.
This was the first Instagram post of Sunghoon that either didn’t feature Sunoo or wasn’t even taken by Sunoo.
And it hurt. Really bad, too.
Because while he just couldn’t seem to move on, Sunghoon was already out there enjoying his best life.
Sunoo angrily wiped away his tears.
If Sunghoon was over him this quickly, why should he be the only one to still feel bad about this?
Sunoo could move on.
That night, he promised himself he would not shed another tear for Sunghoon for the remainder of this trip.