Chapter Text
Soonyoung stared at the rumpled man leaning against the door of their hotel room. “What on earth are you doing here, almost 9,000 kilometres away from home?”
Jisoo managed a weary grin, though there was none of the usual joy that the man seemed to have been born with. “Surprise?”
One look at Jisoo had Jihyun calling for an extra bed to be placed in the sitting room adjacent to their bedroom and settling him in for the night. Where Soonyoung would’ve asked for an explanation, Jihyun had simply accepted the sudden appearance of the man who was her brother in every sense but blood, without any prying questions, though she had a strong suspicion it had something to do with a person whose name started with Lee and ended with Seokmin.
*****
It was the fifth day of their weeklong escape to London, and Soonyoung had arranged for the two of them - well, now the three of them - to make a visit to the Harry Potter Studios, an hour away from London.
As Jihyun had warned him, the visit to the movie studio had brought unshed tears to her eyes, much to Soonyoung’s amusement as he mercilessly snapped photos of her with her red-rimmed eyes, posing in front of the gigantic dragon that came with a complicated name that had slipped out of his mind the second after Jihyun had said it. After joining the queue at the photo corner to have photos of them in House cloaks taken in front of a green screen, Soonyoung paid for the photos that they’d taken with the broomsticks (he had to admit, it looked eerily real), and swung an arm around Jihyun as they left the counter. “Come on, let’s go search for Jisoo.”
The man in question was gaping at the replica of Dumbledore’s office, eyes absorbing every single detail of the set where so many important scenes had been filmed. Soonyoung stayed behind as Jihyun went over and tapped Jisoo’s shoulder gently, smiling up at her fellow Potterhead as they walked over to the Potions dungeon setup.
Jihyun turned around to smile at him. “Take a photo of us, Young.”
Jisoo’s weariness could be seen even through the photos, and Soonyoung hid his concern as he took photo after photo of the duo, posing in front of every single set, even random ones where neither of them realised that he had his finger on the shutter.
“I can’t believe you’re a Slytherin,” Soonyoung commented. They were sitting in the cafeteria, a cup of Butterbeer in each of their hands, Jihyun grabbing an extra Butterbeer-flavoured ice cream.
Jisoo laughed as he surveyed the photos Jihyun and Soonyoung had taken earlier, which depicted them flying on broomsticks in the Quidditch field, Jihyun in her Slytherin cloak and Soonyoung in a Gryffindor cloak. “She got two different results from the Sorting Quiz,” he told Soonyoung, ignoring Jihyun’s huff. “Slytherin, and Ravenclaw. She identifies herself as either one depending on the mood, though I’ve never seen her as anything but a Ravenclaw.”
“Ravenclaw makes much more sense.”
“Yah, I can be cunning if I wanted to!”
The three of them had headed to the shopping central of Oxford Street after their visit to the Harry Potter Studio, Soonyoung patiently waiting for Jihyun as she visited shop after shop, giving his feedback whenever she asked for it, carrying her hauls without any complaints, only stopping her at regular intervals to drink some water.
They were so in love, it made Jisoo’s heart ache with envy.
“It’s Seokmin, isn’t it?”
Jisoo looked up to see Soonyoung looking at him, head tilted to one side, a curious glint in his eyes. He turned his gaze away towards the bustling crowd in Harrods, yet registering nothing of what his eyes were looking at. “I made a mistake,” he said quietly, almost too quietly for Soonyoung to catch it.
“We all do,” came Soonyoung’s reply. “Everyone knows I’ve had my own share of mistakes. Heck, you treated Jihoon’s knuckles after he decked me for my colossal mess-up last time.”
Despite himself, Jisoo smiled grudgingly, remembering how he’d treated Jihoon hyung’s torn knuckles after the man had punched Soonyoung in the face for messing up with Jihyun over a year ago. And yet here Soonyoung and Jihyun were, a couple so giddily in love, who’d found each other again despite all the pain that they’d had to endure before this.
“You don’t have to tell me about it,” Soonyoung said gently. “I just wanted to tell you that Seokmin’s not going to hold your mistake, whatever it is, against you. And perhaps it might help to know that fighting for the one you love, despite everything else, is always going to be worth it.” His eyes trailed over to where Jihyun was browsing a selection of intricately designed pastries, and Jisoo could hardly miss the flash of tenderness in his hyung’s eyes. “If you want to talk, Soo ya, I’ll listen to you anytime. But remember this - we’re leaving in two days. You won’t be able to avoid Seokmin any longer.”
The thought of seeing the human embodiment of sunshine, who’d selflessly brought light to Jisoo’s life until Jisoo had forcibly shoved a harsh layer of dark clouds between them, had fear and hope warring in Jisoo’s chest. “I know.”