Chapter Text
ch.1
How long has it been? Jaebeom pondered, eyes wandering around the too familiar neighborhood he’d known ever since he was too young to remember.
The street was almost quiet; it was around noon and chances were people were still at work, except for a few middle-aged women who were running their errands, to one of them he nodded politely. The lady just exited a convenience store, the noise seeping out from the place was a mix of lively exchanges and some trot song Jaebeoum couldn’t recognize. Once the glass door was shut securely into its frame, the sound immediately dissipated, leaving only an exuberant humming that trailed behind him.
Albeit the tall glasses forming the store’s façade, he consciously attempted to not look into the place, lowering his head to train his eyes to the phone in his hand instead.
Yugyeom texted him the passcode for the gate and entry door this morning when Jaebeom was still in the bus, since the younger wouldn’t be able to pick him up. Jaebeom was relieved that he’d shipped most of his stuffs home last week, and so he was left with only a backpack that carried his laptop, charger, and some documents.
His feet led him instinctively as his mind wandered aimlessly, contemplating what had happened for the past few weeks and his future plan, the one he made almost in a hurry. The flurry of thoughts forced a loud, heavy sigh escaping his lips right when he finally reached the last turn, a small street flanked between two houses.
Jaebeom knew it all too well that at the end of the street, there would be a T-intersection. However, two houses prior the said junction was one with weathered brick fence wall and green-painted gate door, the weathered wood plank under his fingertips showed an obvious sign of age.
Walking past the gate door, there was a small garden Jaebeom knew from the photos Yugyeom once sent him no longer the place where flowers bloomed. And now, it was an expanse of unfamiliar simple lawn grass Jaebeom was sure would be comfortable to sit on once the rainy summer came, turning it into a cushy natural seating perfect for outdoor drinking during warm nights.
As expected, his bedroom door was ajar and there were boxes stacked neatly on a corner. The ray of warm, spring sun showered the space, and Jaebeom absentmindedly observed the specks of dust floating in sunlight as he put his backpack on the desk.
His sight was then trained to the glass sliding door that led to a small balcony – the curtains were pulled to both sides – and Jaebeom noticed that the potted succulents were no longer there. However, the window attached to the Park’s household right across his room still looked the same, and the memory from his teenage days suddenly flooded his vision.
Except for the new bedding and curtains, and the lack of his succulents, everything still looked the same after 5 years, indeed.
Ignoring the lump in his throat, Jaebeom launched himself to the bed, the silence in the home and all of its familiarity mingled as one, creating a cocoon that engulfed him snugly, loosening all of the tight knots in his body.
Before he finally succumbed to the comfortable darkness behind his closed eyes, there was a sudden twitch of guilt inside his chest, a realization that he would never have the chance to enjoy cold beers with Yugyeom on the lawn next summer.
Because coming home was never in his plan, let alone staying there.
When Jaebeom stirred up from his nap, a familiar face flooded his vision, albeit lacking the details and the blurry edges.
“Hyung, you awake now?”
Jaebeom didn’t answer, unless his groan was counted as one. Rather, he flopped to lay supine with an arm, folded, covering half of his face. Finally, he could mumble something sharp ears could make out as a proper response.
“Yeah. ‘Sup, Gyeom.” A drowsy smile bloomed across his lips once the other male’s blurry features finally gained its sharpness. His other arm reached for any part of Yugyeom he could touch, offering friendly pats because of course, Jaebeom was happy to see the younger’s face.
Yugyeom beamed; the way his eyes and nose crinkled gave off an impression similar to that of a child. The sight reminded Jaebeom of when they met for the first time – Kim Yugyeom was only 10 and Jaebeom was 16 – the only difference was Yugyeom’s height because puberty did him damn right.
It wasn’t hard to notice that Yugyeoum also shared the same sentiment from the way his high-pitched voice trembled with excitement. “C’mon, Hyung,” he grabbed Jaebeom’s arm, pulling it playfully yet firmly so the elder would get up, “I brought foods. I’m sure you didn’t have your lunch before.”
But Jaebeom merely allowed himself being tugged by the arm, a chuckle followed right after a loud yawn escaped him. Now that Yugyeom mentioned food, suddenly he felt hungry but of course, teasing his brother wouldn’t hurt for the old time’s sake.
One thing Jaebeom didn’t factor, however, was how much strength Yugyeom had gained during the past few years. Because later, once Jaebeom was fully awake and finally had a good look at the other, Yugyeom was no longer the tall, lanky boy he was 5 years ago. And thus, when his screaming broke the quiet inside the room, Jaebeom finally learnt the first lesson for the day: overpowering Kim Yugyeoum would be an attempt proven futile from then on.
When both of them finally descended from the second floor, Jaebeom – now fully wide roused – still massaged his shoulder, brows furrowing into a grimace.
“Told you to wake up, Hyung,” Yugyeom’s tone was as light as his springy steps, as if he wasn’t about to break the elder’s shoulder less than 5 minutes ago. “I guess it’ll be easier to wake you up from tomorrow onwards.”
Jaebeom tsked when his foot gently nudged Yugyeom’s rear, both of them were standing by the kitchen island. “What have you been doing since you graduated? Fighting with the delinquents in the neighborhood and becoming a top dog?”
“One of the common misconceptions about dancers is the baseless assumption that we are weak,” the younger managed to evaded Jaebeom’s foot and tossed a burger at his direction. “They really have no idea how hard we’re working on our stamina.”
The remark made Jaebeom roll his eyes, although he responded with amusement obvious in his voice. “Yeah, and you use that particular stamina to pound boys and girls, left and right.” His laugh was soon muffled by the food in his mouth, his brows wiggled when he noticed the pink dusting the younger’s face.
“Shut up, Hyung,” Yugyeom whirled around, most likely to hide his flustered state from his brother’s sight, though he didn’t do it without throwing another burger (rather hastily and clumsily this time).
“Aww, look at Gyeomi, he’s blushing,” Jaebeom cooed, fully satisfied with himself despite the warm familiarity spreading across his chest. “Geez, you’re 24, dude. I think you’ve gone way past the phase when the talk about sex flustered you.”
After hoisting himself up the island, Yugyeom began gnawing at his fries, his slouching posture looked even more obvious when he sat. “I know. It’s just…,” a heavy sigh left the younger’s lips and he straightened his back, “Why do people keep assuming that I sleep around?”
Assuming that the coast was clear now, Jaebeom inched closer and bumped their shoulder together. “Do you think it’s the reason why things don’t work out between both of you?”
The sigh leaving Yugyeom was louder and longer this time. “Maybe. I don’t know. Bambam never tells me.” He scrunched his nose, his eyes were trained to the empty wall before them. “He wants to keep things casual is all.”
“And does he… you know, sleep around too?” asked Jaebeom softly, no trace of mirth in his voice this time.
Yugyeom shrugged, almost nonchalantly except for the frown in his face that clearly stated how much he actually cared. “I don’t know. We… he never tells. He never asks.”
“So, it’s like both of you fuck whenever you meet?”
“Kind of.”
And then there was silence, though Jaebeom knew better that it had to be a chaos inside Yugyeom’s head. Ever since Yugyeom dropped Bambam’s name last year during one of their video calls, it was always followed by a rollercoaster of emotions painted across the younger’s face. Jaebeom could clearly tell that Yugyeom was absolutely attracted to the other male, but the complexity of their supposedly-simple relationship made it difficult for him too.
After all, friends-with-benefits situation would always guarantee a mess when feelings involved. And what Jaebeom could deduct from Yugyeom’s repeated angst stories was the younger didn’t factor his already-mile-wide crush on Bambam when they started making out last summer, until everything had gone way too far to fix.
But when Jaebeom was about to offer any gesture of consolation, Yugyeom outdid him. “Enough about me,” the wide grin spread across his face when he tossed the crumpled burger wrapper into the bin – of course, Yugyeom missed it by an inch. “Should we unpack your stuffs tonight?”
“Nah, we shouldn’t. “I’ll only unpack the essentials so it won’t be a hassle to pack again,” Jaebeom answered absentmindedly, crumpling the burger wrapper into a ball before mimicking the younger – when the paper ball landed into the trash bin flawlessly, he hissed, ‘Yes!’, his fingers curled into a fist.
When Yugyeom turned his head this time, Jaebeom knew better that the furrow carved in the younger’s face had nothing to do with his (supposedly not) love life. “Hyung,” he said, quietly and cautiously, “you know that this is our home, right?”
Jaebeom’s throat suddenly felt dry. “Yeah.” And the word felt like a thorny lump he couldn’t swallow.
The younger didn’t say anything, allowing the silence to settle between them like a heavy weight on the shoulders. Only when Yugyeom was positive that the elder didn’t plan to say more did he finally speak, the tone in his voice was softer this time. “I knew why you left in the morning so you could be home at noon when Mom and Dad were still at the store.”
A quiet thud followed when Yugyeom effortlessly jumped down the island, blessed be his long legs. Jaebeom remained quiet, his eyes followed the younger’s movement to the sink where he washed his hands.
When the sound of water finally vanished and Yugyeom had done patting his hands on his jeans, he smiled at Jaebeom softly, almost sympathetically. “Avoiding Mom won’t help or solve with anything, Hyung.”
“Look who’s talking.” Of course, Jaebeom automatically replied to the gesture with the same amount of affection. “Are you the dutiful son now?”
“What the hell are you talking about? You know I’ve always been.”
Jaebeom’s laughter echoed in the room when he approached the younger and slapped his bottom. “Last time I checked, you were the one who kept throwing tantrum and kept trying to run away the first three months we lived together, Kim Yugyeom.”
Yugyeom obviously didn’t let it slide this time and so he replied with another slap on Jaebeom’s bottom. “I don’t dwell in the past, Hyung.”
But before Jaebeom could hit him again, Yugyeom was already ahead and zoomed up the stairs, perhaps just so he could escape the elder and lock himself in his room. Unfortunately, Jaebeom could still outrun him and so both of them resumed their fight inside Yugyeom’s room.
It took them another hour when they finally stopped, both of them sprawling in Yugyeom’s bed, obviously too small for two adults. But they didn’t care as they found comfort even in the way Jaebeom’s leg was on top of Yugyeom’s stomach while his other leg dangled on the edge of the bed, and how both of Yugyeom’s feet somehow landed on Jaebeom’s chest.
“Hey, Hyung.”
“What?” Jaebeom could feel Yugyeom’s stomach rose and fell under his limb.
“I texted Jinyoung that you’d be home today. No reply, though; maybe he’s still working.”
Jaebeom closed his eyes now that he could finally regulate his breathing. “What kind of work is it?”
“The boring stuff.” The younger shifted his position, placing his legs back to his bed instead of Jaebeom. “He tutors but today I think he should be at the coffee shop.”
“Barista?”
“Yepppp.”
“I suppose that job suits him.”
“Exactly. Girls and boys keep swarming around him during his shift. My friend once told me that he looked hot in his shirt and barista apron.”
“Bambam?” Jaebeom could feel the wide grin spreading, threatening to split his face in half.
“Screw you, Hyung,” the younger’s leg knocked the side of Jaebeom’s body, and the elder only laughed at it. And the meek mumble he made when he added, “No, it was Chungha,” made it too easy for Jaebeom to imagine the pout on Yugyeom’s lips. “Hyung, should we go to the coffee shop tomorrow? It’s not too far from my campus.”
Biting his lip, Jaebeom mused for a few moments. The quiet reluctance had to be loud enough for Yugyeom to notice.
The younger then again asked carefully, “Are you currently taking a break?”
To which Jaebeom responded by shaking his head lightly. “No, I’m not…” The pause lingered and Yugyeom remained quiet, hinting at his brother that he willed to wait. However, turned out that wasn’t a pause at all.
Heaving a quiet sigh, Yugyeom said, “Well, we can hang out tomorrow after I’m done with my class and you with your work?” When the other had yet to answer him, he then softly added, “Perhaps Jinyoung will be there too; I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic to see you again.”
I’m not too sure about that, Jaebeom responded in his head. But it was Yugyeom, the one and only brother he ever had, the one who had been showing nothing but compassion towards him despite not being related by blood at all, the one he hadn’t seen for years for God’s sake.
Besides, it seemed like doing what Yugyeom wanted wouldn’t cause any harm, right?
“Okay. Fine. I’ll go,” answered Jaebeom, finally. “Perhaps I can meet your friends too tomorrow.”
“Heh,” despite the scoff leaving Yugyeom’s lips, it wasn’t difficult to notice how lighter his voice was. “And how should I introduce you to them? Telling them that you’re my dad?”
“You wish.” Mischief painted a grin in Jaebeom’s face as he stretched his leg, trying to poke the Kim’s nose with his big toe. “I’m too hot to be your dad, idiot.”
Their brawling resumed for another hour and Jaebeom ended up crashing on Yugyeom’s bed even before their parents returned home. Sometime at night, when he stirred from his slumber, he could hear people talking – Yugyeom being one of them – though Jaebeom didn’t even bother to open his eyes, let alone getting up just so he could sleep in his own bed. However, when the sleepiness started to reclaim him yet again, Jaebeom knew it all too well that he couldn’t avoid the other two people for as long as they lived under the same roof, especially his mom.
And when he was fully submerged in his slumber, Jaebeom supposed that it was better to think about what he would do once the morning came.
*
An hour or so had passed since Jaebeom opened his eyes, yet he had yet to make any actual attempt to get out of Yugyeom’s bed. Besides, it seemed like everyone in the household allowed him to sleep in for as long as he’d like since no one woke him up despite the noise coming from downstair, entering from the open door – it could be Yugyeom’s doing.
Another minute flashed before his eyes and Jaebeom finally forced himself out of the bed, trudging down the small hallway to his own room. He picked up his pillow from the floor – an obvious sign that his brother had slept in his room – before plopping down into his bed, eyes on the white ceiling.
Suddenly, he remembered his phone he had left inside his backpack since the day before. That was when he heard a knock on the door and when he trained his gaze to the direction where the sound came from, another familiar face met him.
The voice was deeper than the one Jaebeom pulled from his memory, greeting him, “Morning, Hyung,” Jinyoung smiled, the sunlight filtering through the glass door fell on him, augmenting the softness in the face. “Yugyeom told me to tell you that breakfast was almost ready.”
Jaebeom cleared his throat when his mouth could only produce barely audible, croaky noise; this time, at least he could say, “Hi, Jinyoung,” clearer. And it took another moment for him to sit on the edge of the bed, the huff escaping him was like another reminder of how being 50 might’ve felt when he was only 30 – heck, even these days the elderlies were healthier than he was.
“Need a hand?” Jinyoung offered, albeit not moving from his spot right outside his room, as if he waited for Jaebeom’s permission to enter the room.
Because Park Jinyoung had always been kind and polite, after all, the voice inside Jaebeom’s head told him, and every mom would always want to have a kid like him. The remark made Jaebeom scoff, earning him a questioning look in the younger’s face. He shrugged it off (though he was actually unsure if it were the look Jinyoung gave him, the thought, or the weight inside his chest) and only responded with a gruff noise.
A palm covered his mouth when a yawn forced its way out of Jaebeom’s lungs, muffling his answer. “Nah, s’okay, I’ll be there in a bit.” Leaning forward to press his elbows on top of his knees, he put his face inside his palm and assumed that Jinyoung had left.
Silence soon followed suit, except for the same noise from the downstairs – Jaebeom could hear his brother yelled at his dad, although he was completely sure there was no fire behind it given how much respect he had for the old man, and the way Jaebeom’s mom laughed heartily, perhaps from the sight of her husband and step-son’s friendly banter.
And when Jaebeom heaved yet another heavy sigh and lifted his head, he couldn’t help but raise his brows a little in surprise because Jinyoung was still standing there, slightly tilting his head to the side with unchanging warmth beaming on his face.
Reluctantly, Jaebeom recognized that look.
“Yeah? Anything else?” asked Jaebeom, knowing all too well the sting in his voice.
Jinyoung said nothing, although Jaebeom didn’t miss the way the younger immediately straightened his head and how the smile stiffened. However, everything went back to how it was before in a blink of an eye when Jinyoung shook his head lightly, the smile returned to his lips as if Jaebeom had not said anything that took him aback.
“Nothing, Hyung, though I reckon you should hurry or Yugyeom will drag you himself.” The small laughter Jinyoung made while training his gaze to the wooden floor lacked the sincerity, and Jaebeom wanted to dismiss it. “Well…” he stole a glance at Jaebeom, who still sat silently on the bed, “Mom asked me to bring kimchi after she heard that you came back yesterday.”
Jaebeom cleared his throat again and nodded his head. “Yeah.”
The smile in Jinyoung’s face grew wider to reach his eyes, casting creases that reminded Jaebeom the little boy who used to follow him around almost every day, back when Jaebeom was younger and had yet to grow into a prick he was now.
And when Jinyoung calmly and also genuinely said, “It’s been a long time, Hyung. It’s really great to see you again,” before he left, Jaebeom unequivocally admitted that he, indeed, was a jerk.
Especially when the Park boy beamed, “Welcome home, Jaebeom Hyung.” And then he left – Jaebeom could hear Yugyeom asking Jinyoung why he hadn’t just hauled Jaebeom before everything melding into a buzzing noise.
When Jaebeom finally gathered enough grit to leave his room and showed up in front of his family in the dining room, Jinyoung had left. However, his attention was quickly shifted to the two other people in the room, particularly the lady whose furrowed brows was a sight already way too familiar to him.
The atmosphere was thick and heavy, full of certain emotions that had been kept and unspoken for too long they had manifested into something bigger than the elephant in the room.
Yugyeom’s dad – Jaebeom’s step-dad – offered him a warm, friendly pat on his back once Jaebeom settled on the empty chair next to him and the opposite of his mom, and Jaebeom muttered his greeting politely. The youngest, who was in charge of breakfast judging from the green gingham apron hugging his torso, threw some jokes to lighten the atmosphere only to no avail since his dad was the only one who showed any proper reaction.
And so Yugyeom gave up, offering Jaebeom a bowl of warm rice and squeezing his shoulder reassuringly before he returned to his own seat.
When his mom finally shattered the silence, Jaebeom wondered if it were what Jinyoung felt earlier. “So, you’re actually home.” And of course, his mom didn’t bother to conceal the hostility in her voice.
Jaebeom, of course, bit back despite not sparing her a glance and focusing on his meal instead. “Unfortunately, yes.” He arranged the side dishes in his bowl carefully. “But like I told Yugyeom, it won’t be any longer than a month until I settle everything.”
His mom scoffed before sipping her coffee. “What do you need to settle anyway? You were fired so you thought that you could simply come home as if you’ve forgotten that you stormed out angrily years ago, ignoring our existence, and never called us until now.”
“I called Yugyeom,” Jaebeom cocked his brow before starting his meal, finally meeting his mom’s eyes fully aware that the lady wouldn’t miss the mocking gesture. “Almost every week,” he supplemented.
And there was a certain poisonous satisfaction swelling in Jaebeom’s chest once his eyes captured the twitch on the corner of his mom’s lips. “You know that’s not what I mean, Im Jaebeom,” she hissed, gritting his teeth.
The silence returned, even heavier now as Jaebeom felt his mom’s stare drilling a hole through his thick skull as he continued his meal. Within the perimeter of his sight, he could notice Yugyeom sitting stiffly, his head hanging low – the long fringes covered most of his face so Jaebeom couldn’t really capture how his brother looked.
“Dear,” the oldest male in the room sighed, rising himself out of the chair, “we should go to the store now unless you want to make Mrs. Yoon waiting; you’ve promised her the fresh fish Mr. Kang will deliver this morning.”
The sigh Jaebeom’s mom made was as heavy as the air. Jaebeom raised his stare right when her shoulders slumped, her stare was no longer directed at him. She followed her husband slowly and Jaebeom could sense that the woman was trying to get something out of her head.
“Do whatever you want,” she muttered under her breath after a short moment of silence, quiet yet loud enough to cut through the heavy silence. “I won’t care, as if you ever listened to me from the first place, as if Yugyeom wasn’t the only one who ever did.”
Following the sound when the front door shut and another moment of void, Yugyeom finally opened his mouth, his voice was shaking, “Hyung…”
The worry in his brother’s whimper was not that difficult to notice – the younger had never got used to it, no matter how many times and years he’d got caught in the middle of it – and Jaebeom thought that he deserved it.
He always did.
*
At first, Jaebeom decided to work at home since he would have the whole home for himself – Yugyeom had a class and most likely would stay outside to hang out with his friends the whole day, and both his parents usually returned from the store no sooner than 10 p.m.
But of course, he had promised Yugyeom to spend the whole afternoon with him, and promise was a promise – especially when his brother whined almost endlessly once he found out that he was still in his room at 1 p.m.
“But Hyuuuuuuung,” it sounded like the younger didn’t mind to embarrass himself in front of people as he allowed himself to raise his high-pitch voice while complaining, “you’ve promised. Move your ass over here, now, or I’ll throw your stuffs away tonight. No excuse. I’ll send you the location.”
And that was how Jaebeom ended up taking way too many selfies during the short trip to the location Yugyeom sent him; because the Kim needed proofs that his older brother was not lying. When he finally reached the rendezvous, he was met with Yugyeom’s squinted stare scanning him from head to toe.
“Your fashion sense still sucks,” he remarked, although both of them knew that there was no actual fire behind the statement. Swiveling around, Yugyeom led the way into the coffee shop.
Jaebeom scoffed, “Unlike you, I’ve got the face, thank you very much.” And he didn’t need to prove with his own eyes to know that Yugyeom was rolling his eyes upon his answer.
Both of them stood side by side in the queue and Jaebeom’s eyes roamed around the place; its wide and spacious interior was dominated by the mix of minimalist approach and concrete surface, with various potted plants here and there. There was various seating scattered throughout the space neatly, from two long communal tables at the center of the place to tall bistro tables arranged neatly alongside the floor-to-ceiling glass window.
Definitely the place where students will hang out, Jaebeom told himself before moving his attention to the menu hung on the wall. There were 7 or 8 people already lining in front of them, and Jaebeom found it unsurprising even though it was past beyond lunch break given the location – it was indeed a hotspot where two university districts intersected.
Jaebeom just sent a reply to his client when Yugyeom leaned in and hummed, “We’re lucky, it’s Jinyoung’s shift.” He leaned to a side, stretching his neck a little to make out the barista behind the counter. Only when he finally noticed it did finally Jaebeom recognize the voice amidst the lively buzzing of students, who came either to study or hang out with their friends.
“I’ll find a seat for us, it’s getting crowded,” Jaebeom glimpsed at his brother, whose stare was fixated on the snacks behind the display. The younger only hummed idly when Jaebeom relayed him his order.
Jaebeom eyed a place on the corner where two low chairs were tucked neatly flanking a wooden coffee table, next to the tall, potted majesty palm, giving it a sense of isolation. His bottom just hit the cushion and he was checking a new mail when he noticed the presence of a figure looming above him.
Glancing upwards, it wasn’t rocket science to figure out that stranger was another barista, judging from the overall attire. Jaebeom’s eyes automatically darted to the name tag pinned on the apron – it read ‘Jackson’.
“I’m sorry,” the male – Jackson – beamed brightly, and suddenly Jaebeom was being reminded of a puppy, “I was going to wipe the table clean before you were here. Would you mind if I—”
“Yeah, sure,” Jaebeom fixed his sitting position, gesturing the barista to do whatever job he was supposed to be doing. “No problem.”
The smile widened, flashing the barista’s white teeth and pushing the cheeks upwards. “Thank you, I apologize for the inconvenience.”
Jaebeom merely shrugged, rather awkwardly, and chose to stare inattentively at the barista’s – it was hard to refer to Jackson by his name, despite the name tag – movement, who leaned forward and sprayed cleaning solution on the table before wiping it clean, humming merrily in the middle of it. Yet again, when he pulled his phone, the barista’s deep, slightly raspy voice intruded.
“First time coming here?” The smile had yet to leave the barista’s face when he turned to meet Jaebeom’s confused stare.
“Huh?”
The barista cocked his head. “You don’t look like a student,” the man chuckled lightly before turning his focus back to the cleaning, “Besides, I remember every face of our regulars and yours is the kind I’ll never forget even if you ever came only once… well, during my shift, of course.”
Nice try, dude, Jaebeom muttered inside his head, though what left his lips were, “Yeah, right,” and he was unsure about where the pleasantries led to. “No, I mean the first-time part,” he hurriedly added once he caught the way Jackson’s smile and eyes widened as the barista straightened his back, the glint in his large dark eyes was a playful kind.
When Yugyeom suddenly materialized with a tray in his hands, Jaebeom was simply grateful since he could escape from the small talk. “Get the hell away or I’ll tell Jinyoung that you’re slacking off, Jackson Hyung,” the younger threatened, although the tone in his voice was a clear sign that the threat was absolutely empty.
The look in Jackson’s wide eyes gleamed even clearer when he made an ‘o’ with his mouth. “Oooooohh… got yourself a new date huh, Gyeom?” His elbow nudged Yugyeom’s side, eyebrows raised in plain excitement.
“Shut up,” the said male nudged the barista back before he leaned to place the tray on the table. “It’s my brother.”
“Oh?” Jackson large eyes darted from Yugyeom to Jaebeom, the glint on the surface of his large dark eyes gleamed even brighter. “But you don’t—”
“Step-brothers,” added Yugyeom, “and yes, he’s Jinyoung’s neighbor and childhood friend and yadda yadda.”
If Jaebeom had thought that Jackson’s large eyes couldn’t get any wider than they were now, he’d been utterly mistaken. But before the barista could say anything else, the man shrieked first when his back got slapped firmly, the noise was loud enough to distract whatever conversation taking place.
The furrowed brows and narrowed eyes didn’t make the girl any less attractive, even when she hissed dangerously, “Go back to your own post, Oppa; you’ve caused enough trouble for Jinyoung.” However, when her round eyes met Jaebeom’s and then Yugyeom’s, she beamed almost instantly. “Hi, Yugyeom,” excitement was obvious in the way she talked, and Jaebeom immediately figured out the why. “New date?”
Rolling his eyes while sipping his drink, Yugyeom merely huffed, “No. He’s my—”
“Brother!” Jackson chirped way too cheerfully, and Jaebeom found it unsurprising that it earned him another hit on his back. “What????” he screeched. “What did I do wrong this time, Nayeon???? I just answered your question!!!!”
The toothy grin spreading across Nayeon’s round face wasn’t exactly the friendly one, especially when she put her arm across Jackson’s back and placed her hand on his shoulder, digging her nails through the white shirt. “You’re slacking off is all. C’mon, let me lead you back to where you belong so you can start making my order and basically do your job helping Jinyoung.”
The sight made Yugyeom snicker, “Serve you right, Hyung.”
“Oppa,” Nayeon’s hand now held Jackson’s cheek firmly to keep him from barking back while dragging him away, “I’m in a hurry and I need my coffee now. How could you let a customer discipline you?”
Jaebeom’s gaze was still following the two shrinking figures, not saying anything until they completely disappeared from his field of vision. Surprisingly, he found the whole interaction quite amusing, and his face had to show it once he spotted Yugyeom cocking his brows.
“What?” the older of the two finally reached for his drink – iced americano because he was a true Korean – and brought the straw to his lip.
“Nothing,” Yugyeom shrugged nonchalantly. “Next time you’re here, ask for Jinyoung’s help to get away from Jackson Hyung.”
“Yeah. Sure.” Though Jaebeom didn’t tell his brother that he didn’t plan to frequent the place, no matter how good the coffee tasted. (It was somehow a lie, though, because Jaebeom knew better that he‘d find it bothersome to waste more time finding another place to work aside from his room, especially when the coffee was this great.)
“Have you had lunch?” the younger asked before stuffing his mouth with sandwich.
The older brother nodded. “Ramyeon,” because what else?
The answer made Yugyeom furrow his eyebrows and his response came a little later once he fully swallowed his food. “Shit, I should’ve cooked for more. While we’re at it, remind me to remind us to prep food for more people now that you’re here.”
“No problem,” Jaebeom shrugged, leaning to rest his back against the chair and stretching his legs, his right shin touched Yugyeom’s limb. “So you’ll still be doing the cooking duty while I help with the laundry?”
“That’ll be great; Dad keeps dumping all clothes into one and arguing that there’s a particular reason why someone started a laundromat business. It’s almost a wonder I could still manage to sort laundry so there wouldn’t by any accident. And Mom keeps insisting that it’s cheaper to wash our clothes at home.”
Glancing at his brother, Jaebeom’s eye smile emerged when the wide grin pushed his cheeks upwards. “Same old shit, huh?”
“Same old, same old,” Yugyeom rolled his eyes, pulling out his phone from his jacket; it didn’t take long until the younger was immersed in whatever conversation he had with whoever texted him.
Silence grew between them, and it’d never been an uncomfortable one. And Jaebeom didn’t mind at all since the lack of words allowed him to think absently – what he wanted to eat for dinner, what he’d do once he and Yugyeom were home later, doing the keyword research, and when he planned to go to bed.
It was Yugyeom who broke the silence. “Hyung, I should go.”
“Where to?” The older raised his brow inquiringly. “Do you want me to come with you or…?”
“Uhh, it’s…” An apologetic smile spread across Yugyeom’s face, the blush dusted his cheeks only in an instant. “I’m sorry but uh… I should leave. Alone. It’s Bambam—”
“Oh.” Jaebeom nodded, the understanding dawned on his mind right away. “Do I need to lie to your dad and fool him into thinking that you’re feeling unwell and don’t want to be disturbed since you’ll be sleeping in your room?”
“Shut up, Hyung,” mumbled Yugyeom, the red had already spread to tip of his ears. “He asked me to help him find a present for his friend is all.”
“And that friend is—”
“Sh—”
“Shut up,” Jaebeom couldn’t help himself and absorbed the knowledge that it was getting more and more fun teasing Kim Yugyeom. “I know,” he cackled heartily.
“But you won’t stop,” the younger sulked.
The grin in Jaebeom’s face grew wider, baring all of his front teeth and turning his small eyes into a pair of crescents. “Ab-so-fuckin-lute-ly.
Raising himself off the chair, the younger continued mumbled, “I hate you.”
And the sight only made Jaebeom want to tease his brother even more, cooing, “Aww, I love you too, Little Brother. Don’t forget the condom, okay?”
It didn’t take long for Yugyeom to disappear from Jaebeoms line of vision, given his long limbs, wide stride, and the urgency in each of his steps. Smiling from ear to ear, unable to contain the warmth bubbling up in his chest, the male wished that he was still in his 20’s although he actually was only last year.
Once he emptied out his drink, Jaebeom decided to go home since he really had nothing to do after being ditched by his younger brother. His eyes somehow stole a final glance at the counter before he slipped out of the coffee shop, only to find that Jinyoung was no longer there.
*
Judging from the noise downstairs that easily entered his room since Jaebeom left his door open – a habit he found difficult to fix, regardless of how disadvantageous it was to him during his rebellious teen age – it looked like his parents just got home after a long day managing the store.
Jaebeom didn’t really pay attention to it, blocking out the noise to focus on the words on his laptop screen. However, his peace had to come to an abrupt end once the knocking on the door instantly pulled him out of his trance.
When he turned his gaze, Yugyeom’s dad was standing by the door frame, smiling tiringly yet also sincerely. “Hey, Son. Am I interrupting you?”
“No, Sir,” Jaebeom shook his head politely. “You may come in… if you’d like to.”
The man, however, merely shook his head lightly. “No, it’s okay. I only wanted to welcome you back since I didn’t get to say it properly before.”
The corner of Jaebeom’s mouth twitched as it tightened; Jaebeom wasn’t sure if the other male noticed it but even if he did, his step-dad said nothing.
“How are you feeling?”
To say the question got Jaebeom taken aback would be an understatement, although he was somehow thankful that the only response he could manage was knotting his brows.
The features in his step-dad’s face softened – when he smiled, his resemblance with Yugyeom was even more obvious. “I heard what happened to you from the story Yugyeom told us.” The man put his hands inside the pocket of his sweatpants, his eyes didn’t waver. “That’s… unfortunate, to say the least, and it’s understandable that you’re still affected. I’m not quite sure what I can offer to help ease your feelings, but if you’ve got someone to talk to, you know that I’m all ears.”
Each word was delivered softly, almost carefully, and somehow, the frown on Jaebeom’s forehead smoothened out as well. But of course, the younger male was unsure what he should say in response to such sincerity. Thus, it should’ve been no surprise knowing that what managed to escape his mouth after a moment of silence was a muttering of, “Yeah… thank you, Sir.”
The smile still lingered in his dad’s face, who had yet to break his stare with Jaebeom’s. “Jaebeom, remember this,” his deep voice echoed throughout the quietness of Jaebeom’s room, “you’re always welcomed here, you know that, right?”
Despite the unsurety weighing his chest, Jaebeom could do nothing but nod his head. “Yes, Sir.”
“And is Yugyeom in his room? I knocked but there was no answer.”
This time, the older man did leave Jaebeom dumbfounded, mainly since he was fully aware of his younger brother’s whereabout. But of course, Jaebeom was no snitch though he suddenly wondered if his parents ever met or at least knew about Yugyeom’s not-really boyfriend.
“I don’t know; we hung out for an hour or so but he left first.” Jaebeom shrugged nonchalantly while trying his best to not erupt into laughter. “He’s probably with his friends.” Or a friend, he added inside his head.
Shaking his head, the older man could only sigh, “That kid…”
Jaebeom easily noticed the fondness in his face – the sight somewhat triggered something quite like jealousy Jaebeom swallowed in a hurry. Of course, the bitterness left an aftertaste in his tongue, he’s his son after all.
“Well, I won’t bother you for any longer.” Gesturing at the open balcony door, his dad added, “Close the door if you’d still be working until late.”
Jaebeom’s eyes moved to direction and he rose from his chair immediately. “Sure. Will do.”
“Great,” the smile returned to the other male’s face, “Good night, Son.”
Yet again, Jaebeom nodded curtly, “Good night, Sir.” His gaze still followed his dad until his figure disappeared before he approached the sliding door, still open perhaps ever since Jaebeom returned to his room and got back to his work this afternoon.
All he planned to do was sliding the door closed, finishing his writing, forwarding the invoice to one of his clients, researching keywords, and perhaps fiddling with his phone to watch cute cat videos before sleeping. However, it seemed like he had to push back his plans for the night once he noticed the window across his room was open and Jinyoung’s waving hands fell into his vision.
And before Jaebeom could think of anything, he automatically waved back.
Given how close the distance between their houses was, it wasn’t that hard for Jaebeom to see the smile in Jinyoung’s face quickly bloom into a wide grin, his smiling eyes were unchanging.
“Wait a sec, Hyung,” said the younger just loud enough so that Jaebeom could still hear him without waking up the whole neighborhood, just the way they always had done it back then, every night.
Jaebeom could see the top of Jinyoung’s head, a mop of black strands popping out of the perimeter of the open window. From what Jaebeom could recall, Jinyoung’s desk was by the window although he wasn’t quite sure if the younger still had the same layout in his room.
And of course, Jaebeom knew too well what Jinyoung was doing in the meantime since Jaebeom himself probably still had the drawing books – both used and unused – and marker pens somewhere in his own room.
When Jinyoung’s materialized back into Jaebeom’s field of vision, the male still had the same eagerness in his face, the message on the sheet of paper he was holding read: Did you like the coffee?
Jaebeom didn’t plan to return inside just so he could grab his drawing book and write down his answer, and thus he merely nodded.
The grin lingered when Jinyoung flipped the page and leaned down, perhaps to write another message. However, something seemed to stop him as he raised his head instead to glance at Jaebeom, and the older couldn’t help but feel something quite like curiosity tugging him.
Fortunately, though, Jaebeom didn’t have to wait for too long to find out because instead of jotting down a new message on the paper, Jinyoung opted to voice it out loud; pride was apparent in the way he said, “I made it.”
“That’s—” Jaebeom cleared his throat. “That’s nice.”
“Thank you,” Jinyoung beamed in a familiar way that made Jaebeom suddenly hoped that he was still the same Im Jaebeom back in his teen days so he wouldn’t have to feel saddled by the guilt gnawing at his chest.
Especially when Jinyoung’s voice, telling him, “Good night, Hyung. I’ll see you tomorrow,” was filled with the warmth ever so sincere, and Jaebeom somehow pondered if Jinyoung’s feelings for him ever wavered, after all this time.