Chapter Text
“Do you know what day it is?” A person at the company asks Hyunjin innocently, unknowing of how the mere day racks in his mind.
April 9th.
The date today is April 9th.
Hyunjin doesn’t even know why he’s at the company today, he knows he isn’t going to be able to do jack shit. Hell, he could barely bring himself back from his thoughts today when Felix, Jeongin, and Minho joined him for lunch. Minho’s a guy Felix started bringing around a few months ago to hang out with them, saying he met him through a shift at the restaurant together. Every time Hyunjin’s asked why he brings him around, Felix innocently replies with, “I met a new friend and I thought you should be friends with him too! He seemed like he would get along with you well.” But Hyunjin knows why. He knows exactly why Felix brings Minho to their hang outs.
Felix sees how Hyunjin has been holding up for the past years. He’s seen everything, from the sadness to the anger; the self-loathing and the rock bottom-ness of it all. He’s seen how bad Hyunjin is coping with it, and decides he can’t bear it any longer to see Hyunjin so low. He knows Hyunjin still hasn’t gotten over the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named of his past, and advises Hyunjin to start trying to move on. The thing is, Hyunjin can’t.
There’s just too many memories he has with him. He took up such a huge part of Hyunjin’s life and he can’t just possibly forget about him in just six years. Hyunjin thinks it will take much longer to move on from him, possibly even the rest of his life with how hard the heartbreak has been and how much it has affected him. But those are things Hyunjin doesn’t and can’t admit.
Today’s the sixth year anniversary, he wants to tell the poor employee who’s probably baffled waiting for him to answer. The sixth year anniversary of the day he left and we split, the day I started feeling the most hurt I’ve ever felt in my life.
“Excuse me?” The person asks, waving a hand over Hyunjin’s face, startling him from his deep trance. “CEO Hwang, what’s the date today?”
Ah, that’s his secretary. Miss Ellie Na. A short, petite girl with glasses always framing her face and a light maiden blush always dusting her cheeks. She could be mistaken for a high schooler if she weren’t wearing a company ID badge and regular office clothes rather than a high school uniform. Overall, she was the kindest secretary he’d ever had in his position as CEO; the only one who really cared about him and understood him, catered to his needs well. He liked her as his secretary, it was a nice brightening to his usual workaholic day.
It rang in his mind again, like he had it engraved into his memory like a wood carving. “Sorry? It’s, uh, April 9th.” He says, averting his eyes to his book which was somehow going to tell him the secrets of winning friends and influencing people. It was a rather good book, actually.
“Thanks!” Off she went, to do God knows what. Most likely in the breakroom making coffees in an attempt to appease the other workers who envied her to be the one able to see Hyunjin all ten hours of the work day, eight-am to six-pm.
Hyunjin sighed, leaning back in his reclining desk chair and ran his hands through his long dark brown hair. He’s really getting tired of this, this date having such an impact on him. He hates being heartbroken, he thinks it makes him seem kind of pathetic if he’s been heartbroken over the same guy for six years straight. Jisung’s probably already long moved on from him, since he was the one who walked right on out. Ugh. Now he feels shitty for letting these stupid thoughts into his head.
~
Jisung walked down the corridor of his apartment floor, fishing his keys out of his pocket while he’s at it. Music blaring through his headphones, he barely hears the greeting of they guy who lives in the apartment across from him; “Hey, Peter!” to which he turns and calls back “Hi” with a slight wave. As soon the guy ducks back into his apartment, Jisung follows suit into his own which he shares with his current girlfriend: Lizzie Choi.
Well, formally, she’s called Elizabeth by her parents and the press and everyone official. Basically, everyone in the rich business industry that Jisung really couldn’t care less about. He loves her still, even if she’s the daughter of a rich conglomerate family.
Her family has never liked him all that well, mainly because they're rich and own many companies; while he is an average man working in various production studios around London. Lizzie's father has never made the effort to strike up conversation about business with him, and her mother just turns her nose up at him whenever he's in her sight. The feeling is quite mutual between Jisung and Lizzie's parents, but it seems she's the only one who doesn't know that, forever trying to get Jisung to be closer with his soon-in-laws. He's not fond of the idea.
They’ve been dating for about a year and a half now. Mainly because Jisung was interested in her when they first met, on a plane to, coincidentally, Seoul. They were both headed there for business and bonded over the fact, almost instantly becoming friends. They decided to keep each other company during the trip whenever they had spare time to hang out, and during those couple weeks they were already enamoured with each other. It wasn’t exactly love at first sight, but once they had gotten a basic understanding of each other and knew each other well enough, they were interested.
It was the first time Jisung actually had interest in a person other than Hyunjin. But sometimes he wonders whether his feelings for Lizzie are genuine or if he’s forcing himself to feel that way to forget about him. He often feels like he shouldn’t still like him, after the separation between them that ended disastrously, to say the least. He feels like he should be over him, but nothing is helping him forget him. Not even Lizzie.
What startles him out of his running thoughts is a tight hug engulfing him. “Hi, stranger,” Lizzie says, breathing in his scent as she stands on her tip toes just to bury her head in his neck and hold his hair, whisper in his ear. She pulls away after a few long moments, grabbing his hand instead and intertwining their fingers with a sweet smile showing her beautiful teeth. “Come inside.” She leads him to the couch in the living room where they sit down next to each other, still holding hands.
“How was your day?” She asks him, but her voice sounds odd– she sounds as if she has something she urgently needs to tell him, but is covering it up for whatever reason.
“Pretty good.” Jisung responds, maintaining eye contact with her own honey hazel eyes. Eyes that remind him too much of a person of his past. “Just like any normal day, though I’ve felt a bit off and I can’t really pinpoint it. Maybe I just miss home too much and want to move back.” He starts to stroke the back of Lizzie’s hand with his own thumb softly. “How about you? How was your day, Liz?”
A smile graces across her face as she shifts in her spot and turns toward him, grabbing hold of his shoulder in a bit of an uncomfortable manner. Not too tight, but still a bit uncomfortable- like she’s trying to keep him from leaving. “That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about, Sung.” Her voice is cheerful when she tells him the next piece of information, the words that make his jaw drop. “My parents are wanting me to get married soon. Somewhere in the next couple months, they’ve already started arranging things amd paying for everything! Isn’t it exciting, Sung? We’re getting married soon!” She shakes his shoulders excitedly while he just fixes her with a blank stare.
Then he laughs in her face.
“Liz– did you just say that we’re getting married soon? You’re kidding me!” He hysterically laughs a little longer, until he sees the way her face drops into a confused frown. And at that moment, he realizes that Lizzie Choi is not joking by any means.
She’s almost glaring at him, and her voice comes out serious and cold when she asks him monotonously, “Why would I be joking with you, Jisung? Do you think marriage is a joke?”
It’s that moment he realizes that he cannot marry Lizzie Choi. It just can’t happen, by all the laws of the universe, and no matter how hard she cries at his door, it will never happen. Sure, he loves her– but it’s more of a see you once a year during the summer type of love. Like a young, casual, slightly immature relationship. He doesn’t want anything super serious. In fact, this is probably the most serious he’s been involved with someone in such a long time.
Maybe it’s because he knows if he marries her, he won’t have an escape. He’ll be trapped in a marriage where he doesn’t reciprocate the same type of love, and it’ll just be completely sucky. Maybe he’s got this subconscious knowledge that if he marries Lizzie, he’s indirectly giving up any chance to go back to Hyunjin. He’d have to give up a person who’s been with him from childhood to adulthood, through thick and thin, someone he realizes he somewhat still loves. Platonically, of course.
He’d be giving himself to the arms of another person, letting another person have ownership over him, and leaving Hyunjin to wallow alone thinking he’ll never come back to him without any explanation. He’d rather not the situation result to that, if he can help it.
Here he goes. “I- No, I don’t think marriage is a joke.” He cups her cheeks and gazes at her with the most apologetic, gentle eyes he can muster, taking a deep breath before he continues. “I think there’s something you should know. I can’t marry you, Lizzie. I don’t love you like that. I don’t love you enough to be in a lifelong commitment relationship with you. It can’t work like that.”
She slaps his hands away, fixing him with the most furious glare he’s ever seen. “Are you saying you don’t love me at all? There’s someone else– isn’t there?!”
“No, I didn’t say I don’t love you at all– it’s complicated.” He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I just don’t love you enough to marry you. I can’t do that. I love you in the way that it’s a fleeting moment during the summertime. I love you like we’re a temporary summer fling.”
“Whatever, just- just pack your shit and get out!” She screeches. Jisung has to will himself not to cover his ears with his hands to block out the obnoxious noise. “I don’t care where you go, just leave the apartment if you don’t want to be with me anymore.” She’s still heaving breaths, panting when she goes into the spare guest bedroom, slamming the door on him. A few moments later he hears quiet, muffled crying resonating from there. He sighs, wishing it didn’t have to be this way, wishing he didn’t have to end their relationship so disastrously, like theirs. But he supposes all good things cannot last forever, all good things must end sometime.
He goes into their shared bedroom, grabbing his luggage back from the top shelf of the closet. His hands fill it with various sets of clothes, his brain going on autopilot. He doesn’t realize that there are tears slightly leaking from his eyes until he hears himself sniffle and reaches up to his eye to feel slight wetness underneath it. He grabs his phone from his pocket, booking a one-way flight ticket to Seoul as soon as he can get. Finishing up with his clothes, he moves into the bathroom, packing his skincare and toiletries and such. Glancing around, he decides not to pack anything else, as everything else could practically be replaced anyway. He makes his way to the main sitting area, still hearing the slower cries and sniffles coming from the spare bedroom.
He writes her a note, guilt and sorrow reaping at his bones. Hey. Sorry things had to end this way. Seriously. I hope you know that I truly wasn’t cheating on you, I am just not ready for the commitment a marriage entails. I really hope you understand, and once again, I am so sorry, Lizzie. -Ji.
He leaves the apartment for the last time, suddenly feeling freed from a cage for some reason. He doesn’t understand why.
~
Hyunjin glances down at his watch, seeing that the time is now late in the day. Only now does he realize how cramped his fingers are from all the typing and writing, how sore his eyes are from staring, and how cracky his neck is from being arched all day. Not to mention how he can feel how empty his stomach is since he didn’t have time to really eat a proper lunch, since he had meetings back to back.
It’s been a long day.
He promptly closes out of his account, shutting his laptop and gathering all his belongings before stuffing them in his briefcase in a rush. He turns off the lamp at his desk, grabbing his phone and briskly walks toward the elevator. His body moving on autopilot, while his brain is just slightly dissociated, out of place, slightly not there. An employee calls out to him, saying “Have a good weekend, CEO Hwang!” and he only nods back because his muscle memory forces him to.
The sun is falling into the warmth of the sky when he exits the building, the vibrant orange bleeding into bubblegum pink that reminds him of his sister. He sees small silhouettes of the moon and the stars across the sky, waiting for night to darken in before fully appearing. The weather has a slight chill, nipping at his nooks and crannies. But the ambience is calm, peaceful, and he smiles the first smile he’s had all day. It’s a feeling that sets him free.
Until he hears a car honking at him once, twice. His head turns and there’s Felix, sitting in his car, with a smile that could light up the entirety of Seoul. Followed by his eyes. He waves Hyunjin over, mouthing to him to get inside the car.
Hyunjin walks over and gets in the car, immediately rolling up the tinted windows and letting out a sigh. “Hi, Felix.” He buckles himself in and shuts his eyes, knowing this is probably going to be the only time he gets to rest a bit tonight.
Felix runs a hand through Hyunjin’s hair and smiles fondly. “Hey stranger,” His voice is calm and smooth, like the water rushing by the riverbanks. “I feel like we barely talk nowadays. What say we go and have some drinks, huh? Just you and me. A guys’ night.” Felix continues to stroke Hyunjin’s hair for comfort and Hyunjin suddenly feels his muscles softening, releasing the tension of a hard day. Dopamine enters his brain and his nerve cells lose all anxiousness; he feels as if he’s melting into a puddle of complicated emotions.
He feels a smile come across his face uncontrollably. “Mn.” He nods without opening his eyes. “Let’s go get some drinks.”
Felix smiles contentedly, turning back to the wheel and beginning to drive off. All the while Hyunjin is lying in the passenger seat, slightly snoring but stirring enough to let Felix know he’s still a bit conscious. Felix stares at his best friend with a mix of emotions: pity, for the fact his friend has to suffer through so many unwanted memories today; anger, at He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, for breaking his sensitive heart like that; concern, because Hyunjin should definitely not be working this hard at work even if he is the CEO, to the point he is this exhausted after a ten-hour work day. Felix loves Hyunjin more than anything, and above all just wants him to be okay.
They arrive at the bar not much later, and Felix wakes Hyunjin with soft taps on his shoulder. Then when that doesn’t work, he shouts, “Yah, Hyunjin-ah! Wake up!”, shaking his friend not violently but slightly harder than he usually would.
Hyunjin stirs, muttering something along the lines of, “Why wake? Why not sleep?”
“Because we’re at the bar, dummy. Come on, let’s go in. Channie-hyung and Minho-hyung will be there and they’ll be fixing things for us.” Felix tugs at him and pulls him out of the car, locking the doors and dragging him into the bar.
“Hey, guys!” Chan waves and greets them with a friendly smile, while Minho only nods dismissively. Never the expressive type. Hyunjin and Felix both wave back as they approach the bar and take seats on the bar stools in front of Chan. “What can I get for you guys today?”
“Strongest drink you guys have got.” Hyunjin deadpans, which Chris shoots him an incredulous look. He shoots a very confused look at Felix, mouthing, what’s up with him?
It’s been a hard day for him, Felix mouths back. Chan nods in understanding and gets right to work making the drink. Hyunjin sits patiently, his mind drifting off to the memories of him and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Han Jisung. The memories of laughter and childish-ness, the memories of crying realizing the pressure of adulthood; the memories of their nineteen year friendship and their brief love and passion for one another; and everything in between. It all comes rushing back to him, and all of it, every second of it– rushes back in burning red.
Red for the passion they felt for each other, so short and brief yet so deep and unable to be restrained. Red for the thrill, the exhilaration of being teenage lovers so new to everything; running around late at night, kissing deeply underneath the covers, hiding the truth from their parents. Red for the blazing anger they felt with each other six years ago; the anger that caused them to pierce each other’s hearts with white-hot blades and slice it agonizingly slow; the anger that deluded them to think their selfish desires made them unable to love each other.
“Hyunjin-ah, here’s your drink.” Chan breaks him out of his spiral of memories with a gentle tap on the hand, handing him the drink. Hyunjin tastes it, and he’s glad to be pleasantly satisfied with Chan’s drink mixing skills. He thanks Chan, then feeling his face for any excess tears that somehow fell from his eyes– also pleasantly satisfied to discover that no, his cheeks were not damp with previous tears and that he hadn’t started crying miserably over his ex in public.
“So, Minho-hyung, why are you at the bar? Do you have a second job here?” Felix asks, trying to be sociable and make conversation.
“I don’t have a second job. I’m just here to pay a surprise visit to my sweet boyfriend Chan.” Minho turns to look at Chan, who looks busily concentrated on counting the drinks they have stashed at the bar. “Yah, Chan-ah, pay attention to me!” He whines, scowling at Chan like a fierce kitten.
Chan turns to face Minho with a sheepish smile and walks over to him. “Heh. Sorry Lino.” He runs his fingers across Minho’s cheeks, which are angry with a flush of red, and kisses him on the forehead, nose, and finally, a peck on the lips. “Is that enough attention for you, or do you want more? I’ll give you kisses all over, if you want!” He begins to pepper kisses all over Minho’s face, soon going down to his neck, collarbones, shoulders- and that’s where Minho draws the line.
“Stop! That’s enough now. Go back to work.” Minho turns away to hide the warmth of red that’s crawling up his neck, but everyone in the bar can probably see the bright color in the dim, strobe-lighted building.
“God, I am so single.” Hyunjin says as he downs the rest of the drink as if it’s water. He just wishes he could get over Jisung already. For fuck’s sake, he only loved the guy for like, a year and a half at most, before they broke up, so why can’t he get over him already? It’s frustrating because Hyunjin wants to settle down but can’t find anyone else to love.
Felix places a hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder, trying to console the man with comforting touches. “It’s alright Hyunjin-ah, I understand how you’re feeling right now.” But you don’t understand, Yongbok, Hyunjin thinks through his muddled mind. You don’t understand, because you’ve got a fucking boyfriend. “But you have to understand that there will be other men in the world, Jisung is not your end all and be all. Maybe it’s better if you just saw him as a best friend and nothing else, perhaps that would make the pain more tolerable?”
Hyunjin shrugs Felix’s hand off of him, waving Chan down for another drink. “You don’t get it. He was in my life for seventeen years, it’s difficult to heal from loving a person unconditionally for that long.” He quickly downs the drink Chan slides him, sliding it back for another hit. “Plus, he’s your best friend too, isn’t he? Don’t you miss him as well, Bok-ah?” Hyunjin turns towards Felix, facing him with his sweet disposition; but Felix can see behind the eyes, he can see the tears brimming in the waterlines of Hyunjin’s eyes.
“I know. I miss Jisung too,” Felix’s voice breaks when he remembers their tight-knit group of four that slowly fell apart after Hyunjin and Jisung’s breakup. “But I hate him for what he did to you. It’s confusing.”
“I get it, Bok-ah. But you shouldn’t hate him for breaking my heart, because he had his reasons and I had mine. It’s complicated any way you look at it.” Hyunjin shakes his head and sips his new drink– he can tell this one is much lighter than the previous ones– Chan is trying to lower his alcohol intake so he stays sober enough.
“He still shouldn’t have hurt you like that! He–”
“Lix, drop it.” His words were starting to give Hyunjin a headache that felt like his brain was swelling, which made everything sound a notch higher than it was supposed to. Felix’s voice grinded against his ears irritatingly and he had to scrunch his eyes shut, clenching his jaw to stop it. (This might’ve been an effect of the alcohol.) “He was hurt too. Now let’s move on from this topic, I’m tired of talking about Jisung.”
Felix’s eyes soften, and he ruffles Hyunjin’s hair gently. “I’m sorry for bringing it up. You seem tired; want to go home? We don’t have to spend a night on the town.”
Hyunjin nods– trying not to irritate his head, but he still feels the pain. “That’d be nice.”
Felix grabs an arm an places it around his neck, holding Hyunjin up from the waist. He mutters a quiet “goodbye, thank you” to Chan and Minho; and before Hyunjin knows it, they’re back in the car, and it’s deep into the night. “Just rest.” Felix whispers softly, sending Hyunjin into dreamland with the speed of light.
The car ride back to his place feels almost too short– but at least he gets enough rest and relief from that God-awful headache. If he can even call it relief– in his short-lived nap the only thing running through his mind were memories of Jisung. As if this whole day wasn’t just a huge reminder of the guy he loved for seventeen years.
Memories of him and Jisung becoming best friends, hanging out in middle school, going on high school trips, navigating their relationship together– the good and the bad. Can’t forget the ugly, either; the fight. The fight that determined the future they’re in now.
Him and Felix make their way inside without saying anything to each other. Hyunjin quickly changes into a pair of his silk pajamas; he’s too tired to do his whole shower, shave, skincare routine, so he just pounces into the bedsheets. His muddled brain makes him confuse Felix for someone else, and he pulls Felix down onto the bed, placing Felix’s hands around his waist. Their breathing falls into synchronization. Their eyes close, and soon they both drift off into a deep sleep. Hyunjin is so glad to finally sleep; to finally escape the ordeals of April 9th.
For some reason, he feels as if this will be the last time he’ll feel like this. He can’t pinpoint why.
~
Hyunjin wakes up to the sound of his phone ringing. His eyes crack open, and he sees sunlight filtering through the blackout curtains of his bedroom. Shit, it can’t be past 8 in the morning right now, he thinks. His throat is annoyingly sore (probably because he’s dehydrated) and his head is pounding. Why did he drink? He hates hangovers.
“Finally, you’re up. Felix and I have been waiting for you.” The voice startles Hyunjin up from his pillow, and for a second, his head’s spinning and his eyes are blurring– but a comforting hand on his back makes it all go away. It’s a voice that’s familiar, that he’s heard since he was born, and it never fails to ground him.
“Noona!” A wide grin comes up his face when he hugs her tightly. “When did you get here? Why are you here? I’m so happy to see you!”
“I flew in this morning from New York.” Yeji says when she pulls away from the hug. “Come downstairs, Felix and I made breakfast. I have an announcement for the both of you.” She ruffles his hair gently and he absorbs the touch– just like he did when they were mere children, barely six and seven years old. Before the weight of the world was placed onto their shoulders. “It’s good to see you again, Hyunjin-ah.”
She leaves the bedroom, closing the door softly so as to not make any noise. He checks his phone– it’s 9:05 in the freaking morning and he’s already got 16 missed calls from an unknown number. Must be the company. On a Saturday? Shaking his head, he jumps out of bed, picking out a navy blue knit sweater and a pair of baggy light jeans. After throwing on some clothes he skips down the flight of stairs two by two, almost tripping and falling on the last step before catching himself swiftly.
He enters the kitchen that is connected to the dining room; he’s not sure why they have a dining room in this house, since they never really eat in there. Oh well. He enters the room to see him. Sitting there with his older sister and best friend, drinking a mug of coffee made just how he likes it–Vietnamese iced style, with two tablespoons extra creamer and a sprinkle of sea salt at the top– making conversation with Yeji and Felix, as if 2,191 days totally hadn’t passed without him in the house. Hyunjin stands there frozen, eyes blown wide at the sight; going speechless, unable to fathom a proper response.
This has to be a dream. This cannot be real. I’m still super hungover, right? I must be hallucinating. I need to get back into bed and sleep for days.
Hyunjin rubs his eyes countless times, waiting to see if he is an optical illusion; but no luck. Time and time again, each time he scrunches his eyes closed and opens them again, Jisung is still there, chatting animatedly with Felix. And Felix forgives him! As if he hadn’t said last night that he still hated every fiber of Jisung’s entire being.
“Hyunjin-ah, come sit down.” His sister calls him from the table, drawing him closer to sit in front of her. She pushes him a bowl of haejangguk– hangover soup. Hers is the best he’s tasted, though they haven’t seen each other in over a year. “Eat the soup.”
Hyunjin obeys, only so she doesn’t get irritated at him for not taking care of himself. He tries to avoid the eyes that are following his every move, even though he’s just sitting across the table. Instead, he stares deeply into the abyss of the soup; wishing he could just be swallowed by it entirely, though it ebbs and soon disappears. When he finishes the bowl, he has no choice but to look up and listen to whatever his sister’s got to say.
Surprisingly, it’s Jisung who talks to him first.
“Rough night?” He asks, gazing deeply into Hyunjin’s honey-colored hazel eyes; as if he sees something more beneath the surface of the iris, something different; something that’ll tell him Hyunjin’s unbearable secrets.
Hyunjin hesitates for perhaps he is diving too rashly into the current. What if the current sweeps him away and strangles him? He shakes himself from the morbid thought. “Yeah. When did you fly in? How come you didn’t tell me?” He feels like his teenage self again, always badgering Jisung with his questions and worries.
“I didn’t think you’d have wanted to know if I was back or not. Considering, you know…” Jisung trails off, not wanting to reopen a newly healed wound for the both of them. “Anyway, I flew in at about eight last night. I found your sister at the airport and she gave me a lift to her apartment where I crashed last night. She brought me here and the rest is history.”
“Please don’t be mad I brought him here, Hyunjin-ah.” Yeji says, grabbing Hyunjin’s hand in a pleading manner; which lets him know that he should probably wriggle his hand out of her grip right now. But for some reason, she has such ironclad grip that he literally can’t. “But I was hoping you could let him live here with you for the time being, you know, before he finds himself an apartment? Your house is very big, you know, since Father bought it for that reason.”
Hyunjin’s eyes go wide for the second time in ten minutes, as he exclaims, “What?! No! There’s no way I’m living with Jisung for God knows how long!” He doesn’t mean to sound so harsh, but Hyunjin is afraid. He’s afraid that things will go down the wrong path again; that he and Jisung will somehow find themselves in a haphazard relationship again, and that they’ll, once again, have a messy breakup. There’s no way he’s letting himself endure that all over again, not when he just freshly moved on.
“I mean, I get it.” Jisung said– in a tone that made Hyunjin feel very guilty. Fuck you, Han Jisung. “Really, I can just move in with Lix temporarily if it makes you that uncomfortable. I don’t want to make things worse than they already are.”
Felix suddenly jumps in the conversation to object. “Actually, my apartment is a bit cramped since I’m living with my boyfriend, Jeongin. I don’t think we can safely house a third person there.” He winces through his teeth, nervous about the situation. “I don’t think Chan has space either, because he lives with his boyfriend Minho; and I’m not close enough to Seungmin to ask him. Sorry.” Felix smiles apologetically through his teeth; Hyunjin sighs, a hand on his head to support the upcoming migraine.
“Do I really have a choice?” He asks, eyes closed. His blurry vision is somehow focused on the squirrel-cheeked man in front of him (sue him, he’s suffering from a migraine). “I don’t want Jisung to end up homeless.”
“So you’ll let him live with you temporarily?” He can hear how the tone of his sister’s voice raises significantly in delight. He nods once to affirm, to which he hears an excited squeak in response.
“Awesome! Now for the real news,” Yeji says excitedly, raising his migraine pressure by ten percent. But she’s his adorable older sister, so he can’t really get mad at her unless he wants a scolding. “I’m getting married soon. And you all are invited.”
His eyes fly open at her words, the migraine taking a back seat to these wonderful, shaking news. Felix all but screams, while Jisung just sits there, jaw dropped and eyes wide open. Hyunjin, unable to process the news, says loudly, “You what?! What? When did this happen?”
“It doesn’t matter,” She waves off his questions flippantly. “All that matters is that we love each other and that we’re getting married in two weeks, and then we’ll finally be living together. After four years of long distance, we’re finally going to be in each other’s presence. For real.” His older sister sounds so happy talking about her fiance, some guy Hyunjin’s never even met before. How can he determine if he’s a good guy who truly deserves Yeji if he’s never met him before?
“Anyway,” She goes on, cutting off his thoughts. “I was thinking each of you could bring a plus one to the wedding. I was thinking since Felix mentioned his boyfriend, he could bring him to the wedding; so maybe you two can go together?”
Jisung chokes on coffee while Hyunjin chokes on his own, vile saliva at the prospect of going to his sister’s wedding with Jisung as the date. They both recoil in disgust and disbelief that she would even pose that hypothetical situation. They can’t, they won’t; it would be like reliving moments of six years ago all over again. Why would they want to relive those moments when they’re trying just as hard to forget about all those sacred memories that they still hold, years later?
Although… the prospect of going to the wedding as a date just once doesn’t seem too bad, does it?