Jisung sat at home and he was bored. Incredibly bored. He had expected this, but not that nearly.

But the thought of sitting in this insanely tidy, clean apartment and having nothing to do all day somehow drove him crazy already.

He had put the laundry in the dryer, at least the parts that were allowed in there and hung up the rest. Had made breakfast for himself and cleaned up the kitchen again.

Now he sat on the balcony with his breakfast and drank coffee. It was a relatively warm, sunny autumn day and it actually felt really nice to be back in Korea.

But the prospect of just sitting at home and having nothing to do was somehow not very tempting.

Sighing, he shook his head, put his cup on the table, next to his empty plate and stood up.

He wasn't used to having nothing to do. Even besides high school, he had always worked to support his mother as much as possible. And before he got the job at the bar, he had even had two jobs at once.

Life hadn't really been kind to him until now and it was insanely difficult for him to just enjoy his free time.

But since he had a goal in mind, even if he didn't really know how to achieve it, he went to the bedroom and got his notebook.

He knew that Hyunjin had applied to the SOPA and had even already been accepted for the summer course. Actually, he now only had to register and be admitted himself.

Sighing, he pushed aside the thought of the semester fees and opened the university's website instead. With which a completely new world opened up before him.

A smile crept onto his lips the more he let go and although he tried to suppress his joy, it still made itself felt.

The courses sounded exciting and even if he didn't know if all this really suited him, cautious hope spread in him. Hope that he would somehow manage to study.

Just as he was thinking about snuggling back into bed, the doorbell rang, causing him to almost push his cup off the balcony.

"God damn it," he muttered, took the cup and went to the front door.

"Heeeey babe," Hyunjin squealed, the second Jisung opened the door and pushed himself into the apartment. Without giving the younger one even time to react, he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug.

"What are you doing here?" Jisung asked, but was interrupted by Hyunjin pressing their lips together.

"God, Jinnie, people really could think we're a couple," Jisung chuckled after Hyunjin broke away from him.

Hyunjin gently dug his slender fingers into the younger's hair and kissed him again. "Does that bother you?"

Jisung shook his head and blushed.

"Good. Because the two of us have a date now," with a satisfied smile, Hyunjin dragged the younger with him to the bedroom, where he rummaged in Chan's closet to find something suitable to wear.

"A date?"

Hyunjin nodded with a frown and then sighed dissatisfied. "Yeah... and after that we'll pick up your stuff at Changbins. You finally need your own clothes again."

Uncertainly, Jisung nodded and sat down on the bed.

He didn't know exactly if it was the right thing to just pick up his stuff without talking to Changbin about it first. They were actually in the process of getting closer again, which he didn't want to endanger by sneaking around Changbin's apartment like a thief. But Hyunjin was right. He really wanted to have his things back and finally feel at home somewhere again. Chan had offered that he could rearrange the apartment. Which he didn't have in mind at all, but at least he wanted to have his stuff with him again.

Hyunjin thoughtfully watched the younger, who looked kind of unhappy. Sighing quietly, he left the clothes in the closet, went to Jisung and pulled him into his arms.

"You could just call him and let him know. Then you don't have to worry about what he might think," he said quietly, gently caressing Jisung's back.

"But he's in the studio with Chan and they're having a conversation with their manager. And Chan doesn't even know we're talking to each other again," Jisung whispered, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Oh baby," murmured Hyunjin and let himself sink into bed with Jisung in his arms.

He understood that the whole situation between the three was difficult, but also had no idea how to help him.

"We'll just postpone the whole thing and maybe pick up your stuff tomorrow, okay?" he asked quietly, pressing a kiss on Jisung's forehead.

Who nodded and snuggled up to the elder.

A cautiously optimistic smile spread on Hyunjin's lips. He pulled Jisung closer to him, slid a little higher onto the bed and pulled the duvet over them.

"Jinnie...?" Jisung whispered at some point, pressing his fingers nervously into Hyunjin's arm.

"Yes, baby?"

"I'm afraid..."

Surprised, Hyunjin straightened up a bit and looked at the younger one carefully. "Afraid of what?"

Sighing and with tears in his eyes, Jisung shook his head. "Of everything. Of not having a home again. Not finding a new job and not being able to study. I don't want Chan to pay for all this either. As much as I love him and I really do, I never want to be dependent on anyone again," he said sobbing and dug his hands into Hyunjin's shirt.

Affected, he pulled the younger one to himself. Let his fingers gently wander down his back and painted gentle circles on his skin.

"I know you're feeling fucking insecure and helpless right now. And while Chan is an incredibly sweet, generous person, I also understand that you want to be independent. Because you've already experienced so much shit that you find it hard to trust someone. That's fine. And we can work on that together to make sure that you stand on your own feet and don't have to depend on anyone."

Jisung was silent for quite a while.

He thought about Hyunjin's words and even though his sobs had stopped in the meantime, tears still ran down his cheeks. Even if it was more because of Hyunjin's words, than because of his own despair.

"You're the best best friend I've ever had," Jisung whispered and had to laugh and sob at the same time.

"That isn't really difficult," Hyunjin laughed and kissed Jisung gently before he let himself fall back into bed.

Which led to the fact that Jisung could finally take a deep breath and at least felt a little better.

"All right, baby. Maybe you should jump in the shower and freshen up a bit so we can finally start our "looking at the campus" date."

Surprised, Jisung looked at him and then nodded with a smile.

~~~

With shining eyes, Jisung walked across the campus next to Hyunjin and couldn't get out of his amazement.

Full of anticipation, he reached for the older's hand and squeezed it. "It's beautiful here."

Hyunjin nodded smiling. He had already visited the campus with his grandmother, which was why he could now pay more attention to how Jisung reacted.

"If you like it, we only have to work on two things. Your portfolio with which you apply here and how you can pay the semester fee," he said, sounding so confident that Jisung couldn't help but feel confident as well.

"There is a summer course for dance beginners, I think also a course on voice development. Just like one for creative writing and one for song writing," Hyunjin continued, and Jisung felt a little overwhelmed, but also incredibly excited at the same time.

He let Hyunjin pull him across the campus and tried to follow everything the elder told him attentively.

"Quite a lot at once, hmm," Hyunjin asked, grinning at him with his head tilted.

Jisung nodded and leaned against him.

"Okay, let's take a break. I discovered a sweet little cafe with my grandmother that is perfect for this," Hyunjin pulled the younger one behind him.

The café wasn't that small. It was in a strange mixture of shiny stainless steel and somehow somewhat old fashioned decoration. But Jisung could see why Hyunjin liked it, because somehow it had its own charm and invited to linger.

Without even asking what he wanted, the elder pushed him to one of the tables a little further back in the café and then lined up to order.

The café was quite well attended, which could also be due to the fact that it was almost lunchtime and most students were probably just having a break.

Still, there were only two people at the cash register in front of Hyunjin, which made him return relatively quick. Jisung watched him talk to the cashier, who somehow seemed strangely familiar to him.

Thoughtfully, he fumbled around the offer card that was on the table and tried to find out where he could have seen the barista before.

He was interrupted by the fact that Hyunjin came towards him with a satisfied smile, sat down opposite him and thus blocked his view.

"Why are you grinning?"

"I'm just curious if you like my selection," Hyunjin replied, still smiling and reached for Jisung's hand.

"Does the barista look familiar to you?" Jisung asked thoughtfully, who simply could not push aside the thoughts of the brown-haired man.

"I don't know. Maybe." Hyunjin shrugged his shoulders, turned in his chair and stared at the checkout. There, the barista was apparently busy preparing their coffee. "Why, do you know him?"

With his eyebrows drawn together, Jisung shook his head. "I don't know exactly. He just looks quiet familiar to me," Jisung murmured.

"It doesn't matter. It is much more important that we can register you for the summer courses and thus put together your portfolio. Otherwise you can forget about the application."

Jisung nodded hesitantly and a bad feeling spread in his stomach. He felt like he was facing a huge challenge that he didn't know how to overcome.

"Do you think... do you think I can do this...?" he asked quietly, but before Hyunjin could answer, the barista came to their table with a tray in his hands and cleared his throat slightly.

"Your order," he said, and the radiant smile on his lips didn't slip a millimeter.

"Thank you very much!" Hyunjin said, reaching for the two cups of coffee, while Jisung couldn't help but stare at the brown-haired in front of him.

"I know you."

"Maybe. I work here often."

But Jisung just shook his head. "But I've never been here before." In the farthest corner of his head, a thought wavered around, but he really couldn't grasp it.

"From the bar," Hyunjin said suddenly and had to grin.

Surprised, the brown-haired looked at the two more thoroughly and they could really see how the realization hit him. "You worked with Innie."

"Oooooh. You're the guy who ripped Innie open," Jisung said excitedly and now clearly had the pictures in front of his eyes again, how Jeongin was pushed against the bar by the brown-haired man.

"Seungmin. Nice to see you in daylight," said the barista grinning and put the plates with the cake in front of them. "Sorry, but I have to continue working."

Hyunjin and Jisung thanked him with a smile before the brown-haired disappeared back to the checkout.

"How small the world is," Jisung muttered before directing his attention to the cake in front of him. In front of him was a piece of cheesecake, while in front of Hyunjin was a piece of chocolate cake.

"Don't look so angry. I thought we might share. Then none of us has to choose," chuckled Hyunjin, who immediately noticed the younger's almost annoyed glance.

Caught, Jisung had to grin and impaled a piece of cheesecake on his fork. "You just know me way too well."

"I know, babe," Hyunjin, amused smiling, he pushed his plate closer to Jisung, so that it would be easier for him to get the chocolate cake.

꧁⟢𓆩♡𓆪⟣꧂