Chapter Text
tuesday, 27th july 2088
[ 11:42 ]
before jae shoves open the glass door of the coffeehouse, the boy removes his gold-rimmed glasses, wiping them on the hem of his shirt before fixing them back on. as he steps into the shop, the cold air-conditioning embraces him from the hot sunshine beating down outside. scratching his head a little, he strides up to the sleek counter, the familiar girl with her newly cut bob of chestnut brown hair beaming at him, smile positively radiating.
her eyes are a crystal clear black.
“welcome to coffeebrew! i’m rania, how may i help you?” she chirps gleefully. she taps his fingers against the counter. amused, jae taps a forefinger at two drinks displayed on the counter. “double-shot latte, and-”
“-iced americano?” rania quizzes, raising an eyebrow. “you’ve become a regular here, i see?”
“yeah,” jae guffaws a little as he retrieves his wallet, eyes downcast a bit. “i mean, i’ve only started becoming a regular since less than a week ago, so does that still qualify as-”
“-for you and your friend?” rania cuts him off, and jae frowns a little. he can’t blame her, really. it’s been a whole lifetime since she’d opened her mouth, he presumes. at the slight downturn of his lip, rania cringes. “sorry, sorry, i’m still getting used to this.”
jae offers a small smile as he hands over a twenty. “you’ll get the hang of it, kiddo,” he counters casually, his smile matching the cashier’s growing one across her face. her cheeks remind him of brian’s, full and chubby. and dimples.
with that, jae promptly heads over to the single seats lining the window. whispers and hints of chatter from the other patrons mingle in the air with the soft drowsy typical coffeehouse jazz streaming from the speakers softly. he looks out the window, the city before him thriving and more alive, alive, alive than ever, people stumbling down the block in pairs and groups.
jae’s been the happiest ever in a long while.
after the attack at the abandoned weapons factory, the asc had managed to plant a truth pill in the offender’s drink and thus culminating in a plan unfolded: joonho leading the hijacking team in south korea and several other nations in southeast asia, others leading teams elsewhere around the world. they’d begun with jae’s homeland for a number of reasons, one of them being the fact that south korea had the highest rates of lens users.
that had to change.
with the government issuing a limit on the number of hours on the eyelenses, jae could see a drastic difference in all those around him: brighter and happier and more in the present, less into the future, and it warmed jae’s heart in some sort of sense. how people were beginning to appreciate the ones all around them, the ones who’d they’ve been living with without knowing one another.
@idratherbedyingrn order up, mr park!
the stool legs scrape against the tiled floor as jae stumbles to his feet, cutting his way through chairs and tables occupied by dozens of patrons. with that, he reaches the pick-up counter to retrieve two drinks when his eyes land on the customer in-line: all mussy raven black hair and high cheekbones and friendly smile and lanky body, dressed in a white tee and pale blue jeans. and fox eyes.
“hi,” @foxeye chuckles, his eyes crinkling with the upturn of his lips. deja vu , jae thinks, as his throat runs drier that the sahara desert.
“h-hello,” jae stutters a little, both from the nostalgia of the moment and from how brian’s calloused palm wraps around jae’s own, grip still on the iced americano. warmth practically seeps through his pores as brian leans a little closer, lips brushing jae’s reddening ear. “your hands are quite pretty, mr park. you play guitar or something?”
for god’s sake and all things good.
“y-yeah.” jae’s heart stammers and skips against the chest of his ribs as brian laughs, joyous, before placing a palm flat on jae’s back. “yeah. something like that.”
_______________
“what do you mean, ‘we haven’t found them yet?’” jae quotes, puzzled, as they lay across the cheap sofa back at brian’s holed up rented room, cramped but still well-formed, jae has to admit: the tv and the fridge for cold drinks aren’t that far apart from each other. his head on brian’s lap, jae’s eyes are focused on the screen playing before them, yet his mind wanders elsewhere.
from above him, brian strokes jae’s hair softly, gently, like a boy crooning over his kitten. “joonho himself doesn’t know the others’ whereabouts. they foresaw that they might get caught. plus, with his story all over the news, the others are bound to keep their defences up high,” he explains, sighing a bit as he speaks, the words heavy and doubtful.
jae glimpses up and catches the frown on the boy’s lips. he raises his head to kiss it goodbye, a smile replacing it.
they kiss a bit more.
jae sits up to straddle brian, hands loose on brian’s full hips, eyes scanning the boy’s face for signs of hesitation. none. his legs flank either side of brian, unnecessarily long and thin against brian’s broader frame. “look. you can’t beat yourself up about it. y’all will track ‘em down, believe me.”
brian shrugs. “they expect an answer from me, that’s what. strategists are racking their brains to figure out how to hack the hacking system-”
“-must be mean work-”
“-of course it is,” brian counters assertively. “also considering, that’s my job now. i don’t know one bit about strategising and planning ahead. look how i saved you that time!”
after escaping from death by taser and bullet in a hair’s breadth, the executive manager of the association had moved brian down to the strategist specialists, convinced that the spy knew a thing or two about switching the game plan up a notch to grab at the upper-hand whenever possible. sadly, he hadn’t managed to convince brian himself, who was still doubtful about the whole procedure.
hands cup brian’s cheeks as jae scrunches his nose at the other. “you won’t let them down, okay? because you’re brian fu-”
“-cking you-”
“-actually, yeah, but i was gonna say fucking younghyun,” jae huffs, yet the colour is spread across his cheeks, and brian pinches them playfully, fingers skimming his neck at times, too.
“sure, sure,” brian yawns, still cradling jae’s face in his palms, before slowly kissing him. again. their lips touch, leading to a flurry of murmurs and deep, languid kisses after that. torrid and sweet and everything in one as jae allows his hands to slide up brian’s back under the fabric of the shirt he has on. burning and heartwarming as brian plays with jae’s hair at the nape of the neck, his hands roaming everywhere.
jae’s found a safe haven here with brian, and he doesn’t want to let it go, but he does, and he sits upright before looking at him square in the eye. the silence creeps in, stealthy, quiet, too quiet for either of them to notice until jae breaks it. “when’s the flight to tokyo?” the question is a hush, a question of longing and repent.
the other boy smiles wider, his eyes resplendent in dark brown. “i’m not moving-”
“-you little bitch ! you said you’re going to move,” jae shouts, pouncing away from brian to land on his feet. “you’re not hiding anything else from me, are you?” his mind races. he bought a fucking bolster and a goddamned pair of ripped jeans (25,000 won, mind you), and brian’s not moving away? beyond flustered, the taller boy smacks brian’s arm, who howls in pain and anguish. “what am i supposed to do with the farewell card now?”
“ farewell card ?” now it’s brian’s turn to be shocked. disbelief is etched all over his expression. “you bought a card for me-”
“-i made it, you little piece of shit-”
“-park jaehyung, making a farewell card for me-”
“-i made it. like, last week!”-
“-oh my lord,” brian bursts into peals of laughter, leaving jae blushing hard, stammering over his words to begin a sentence. “i can’t believe… after i got hospitalised, they said i should stay under the radar. stay in seoul. might as well settle down here, since most of the specialists work in this city. did i not tell you?”
jae huffs, crossing his arms across his chest in defiance. “no, you did not.”
brian grins cheekily. “i so did. you fell asleep, remember?”
(truthfully, jae does recall a snippet of a memory back at the hospital, when they’d been going on and on and on about the future, his voice drowsy with sleep. “are you going to move for real?” jae had pouted, eyelids halfway down the journey to slumberland. before he’d seen black and dreams, he does remember someone pecking his cheek, lips forming a ‘no’ shape against the skin… goddammit. )
pathetic, jae slumps into the spot beside brian on the couch, exasperated. “i mean, i’m glad you’re not moving and all, but i-”
“-should i move away so you can give me the card, then?” brian quizzes, arching an eyebrow at the other’s direction. sheepish, jae bites his lip, hot red fanned across his face.
“i didn’t mean it like that, i just-” the words dissipate into nothing as brian leans over, palm on jae’s jean-clad thigh as they kiss again, the heat from each other unbearable as jae grins against the other’s lips. he yelps the second brian scoops him in his lithe arms in one swift movement, lips still locked in place as jae weaves his arms around brian’s shoulder. they go with the flow, all the time in the world. (“bedroom?” “y-yeah.”)
as they lie in bed later on, sheets a mismatch over their socked feet, brian’s arm wrapped limply around jae’s torso, jae’s eyes on the verge of flittering close, jae wonders a little to himself about the idea of fate, thinking back to sungjin’s words a while back - which, in jae’s opinion, feels like a lifetime away.
“if this isn’t fate, then how can this all be?”
maybe pure luck, jae smiles to himself, before snuggling closer to the warmth of the body beside him and promptly falling asleep.
_______________
wednesday, 28th july 2088
[ 16:09 ]
fantastic four
happypill so
happypill yo
lovechickj hey yall
sangjean where r you???????
sangjean are you safe???
sangjean you didnt call ?????
do-a-deer dont worry hyung
do-a-deer he probably spent the night at his bf’s
lovechickj he’s not my bf
happypill changed happypill ’s name to sadpill
sadpill whY
sadpill yall are alr all over each other
sangjean im surprised yall arent married yet
sadpill HYUNG
sadpill TELL HIM HOW MUCH YOU LOVE HIM
do-a-deer ye
do-a-deer then ask him to be your bf
do-a-deer then you can move out
do-a-deer and i can take your bedroom goddamned master bedroom
lovechickj nah bro
sangjean he has a point though…
lovechickj why is it so necessary for me to ask him to be my bf
sadpill beCAUSE
sadpill yall love each other so much
sadpill it’s so disgusting like get together already
do-a-deer i have an idea
do-a-deer let’s force them out on a date
sangjean wait dont tell me yall havent been on a date
lovechickj we have…
sangjean youre telling me
sangjean he’s not your bf
sangjean BUT YOUVE BEEN ON A DATE W HIM ALREADY
lovechickj um
lovechickj actually 3 dates
do-a-deer jae needs dating classes and quick
sadpill that’s it
sadpill let’s go on a double date so jae can propose faster
sangjean hey what about me
sadpill oh yeh
sadpill i guess you can fifth wheel
sangjean fuck you
do-a-deer $15 :::))))
sangjean shut up too, dowoon
sadpill added bribri to the group chat
sadpill changed this group chat name to double date + dad
bribri hey guys
bribri what’s up
lovechickj pretty sure you can read the grp chat name
bribri sorry boo
bribri my eyes are only on you ;)
lovechickj i’m not even with you rn tf
bribri my phone lockscreen is of you and me babe
bribri so double date? who’s dad?
sangjean me
bribri oof ok cool
bribri where we going
do-a-deer bowling!
sadpill ice-skating!
sadpill go away dowoon we can bowl another time
sangjean compromise yall
lovechickj i can’t bowl OR ice skate
bribri i thought you were multi-talented
lovechickj excuse u
bribri you’ve been excused so
bribri can u come back :3
bribri miss you alr babes
lovechickj me too hehe
bribri :*
sangjean ok yall keep your whoremones down till tonight
sangjean i shall make an executive plan
sangjean since no one can decide
lovechickj we havent even casted our votes yet (?)
sangjean we shall be having a picnic beside the han river
lovechickj at night????????
sadpill let’s make sandwiches and cake and juice!!!!!!!!
sadpill omg im excited already
lovechickj wait guys at nIGHT?????????
do-a-deer oOH stars!!!!!!!!!!!!
sangjean yES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bribri sounds good
lovechickj why babe
lovechickj you’re supposed to side with me
bribri was i
bribri sorry bro :’) i’ll make it up to you later
sadpill oOH he’ll make it up to you ;;;))))
lovechickj sigh
lovechickj welcome to the fantastic four fam, mi love
bribri soon-to-be fantastic five, you mean
_______________
[ 18:37 ]
“wait, who has the jui- wonpil you’re spilling it everywhere, stop!”
“am i- holy shit! shit what do i do-”
“-for fuck’s sake just calm down, we have a picnic blanket for a goddamned reason!”
“can i eat already?” as expected, the five are sat across a checked mat laid across an expanse of grass overlooking the river, glistening under the sun about to dip below the horizon. people mill about the park, some glimpsing over now and again at the group fussing over every single detail: sungjin admonishing wonpil, wonpil fake-sobbing, dowoon feeding a pigeon, brian pinching a sandwich and jae… jae scrolling through his phone.
tapping him lightly on the shoulder, brian smiles at jae. “why the down face? you seem unhappy.”
jae slides his phone into the front pocket of his jeans shyly, ears as pink as the sky overhead. “nothing. It’s just-”
“-weird?-”
“-somewhat,” jae admits, his eyes downcast. he fumbles with the hem of the picnic blanket at his worn-out sneakers. “i don’t think you’ve hung out with my friends before, right?” in actuality, jae’s just scared. intimidated by the fact that sungjin, of all people, had suggested a picnic. before brian had arrived at their apartment door, sungjin had dragged jae into the kitchen - “halfway through, dowoon will be complaining that he needs to pee, wonpil will add on, then i’ll bring them to find the toilet. then you initiate it: walk with him along the river. okay?” before ruffling jae’s (once neatly combed) hair.
brian chuckles a little before leaning into jae. “i haven’t, but your friends are seriously cool. nice to know that y’all live together even after graduating,” he comments lightly, before reaching out to receive a cup of juice offered by wonpil, passing it to jae. their fingertips brush against each other, and it’s electric. jae smiles softly.
the five of them are sat like this for about a half hour, all munching on the chips and sandwiches they’d brought along, with brian’s takeaway of sushi and sashimi a fairly delicious addition to the whole feast. light begins fading away, the starlight in the sky taking its place, its spotlight. as jae eats, his eyes are trained on the light playing with brian’s grin, like some sort of demi-god sent from heaven.
it’s pretty, he thinks.
when brian glances over at him, their eyes tell their story, dark and bright all at the same time.
i want to tell you something.
say it.
not here. not now.
c’mon.
later , jae mouths, his heart palpitating ten times faster now, a drum going haywire as brian slips a hand into jae’s own. their fingers find each other, a squeeze from brian promising of later’s and okay’s .
_____________
[ 19:58 ]
hand in hand, the two stroll side-by-side, the river flanked to their left. jae shudders, not from the nightly chill breeze rustling in the leaves, but from nerves, from fright, from a giddy sort of excitement. it’s happening, he thinks, and he doesn’t know what to do, what to say. about two hours prior he’d been practising a script in front of the mirror, correcting his facial expressions and minimal hand gestures.
it’s erased from his mind like a gust of wind kicking up dust.
thinking on his feet, brian offers his jacket to jae, and whilst jae protests against it, he finds the musky smell of perfume lingering on him as brian helps the other shrug into the article of clothing. they pause then, and jae relishes in how strong it feels in brian’s hold like this. ethereal.
“so,” brian finally begins, leaning against the railing. his eyes are torchlights, bright amd burning into jae’s own. “you wanted to tell me something.”
“y-yeah.” stop it . jae regains his composure. breathe. in, out. in, out. “yeah, i… i was meaning to ask you something, actually.”
“oh?” brian raises his eyebrows, crossing his arms over his chest. “what’s up?”
ding!
jae blinks twice at his lenses. “sorry, wait, uh-”
#letzgedditjae2k88
director and we’re rolling
director what’s taking yall so long??
producerpil yeh!!??
producerpil we can SEE yall there
mainjae if yall shut up i will ACTUALLY tell him
brian cocks his head to one side, confused. “look, whatever it is, i’m alright, jae. Just say it,” he confirms persuasively, his hands now rubbing his forearms. nerves. “what’s in it, jae?”
jae logs out. “um.” he begins, the letters in his brain not seeming to connect together to form words. his heart hurts a bit more. “look, i-” he chokes on his saliva, before continuing. “i-i… uh, well, how can i say this? i…” his voice trails off, brian’s eyes squinting at him, baffled. “i wanted to tell you this for a long time-”
“-can you get to the point, babe?”
jae flushes harder. “look, brian,” he says breathlessly. “i’ve gotten to know you in less than a month, but believe me when i say that it’s been a seriously incredible time knowing you. you’ve changed my life a shit ton, and everything’s pretty surreal at the moment. i just wanted to-”
“-are you breaking up with me?-”
“-tell you tha- wait, what ?” jae furrows his eyebrows. “we were together already ?”
brian frowns. “whatever, just say what you wanted to say-”
“-no, no, wait, since when were we together-”
“-no, shit, i thought we were? or am i just-”
“-wait, shut up. since when were we-”
brian shuts jae up with a crash of lips upon lips. for god’s sake , he murmurs against the other’s lips as they kiss long and hard, grip on each other bold and firm as they melt and ingrain themselves in this moment, just them and their tireless love and a stupid miscommunication of words. which seems ironic to jae really, that his lenses light up with a familiar ding!
bribri i love you
as they break apart, jae sucks in a deep breath. “will you be my boyfriend?”
“i thought we already were,” brian muses softly, grinning, before pecking jae’s lips once more. brief. full of life. “but yeah. sure. absolutely.”
ding!
jaelittle i love you too