5 years later ; brisbane, australia

jake huffed in annoyance as he finally finished the five cases that was assigned to him. he's been staring at his laptop for almost 12 hours and all these words are now making him nauseous.

i need a break. he grabbed his coat and proceeded to go out of his office, holding his coffee in one hand.

"yunie!"

he almost froze when he heard that nickname. he gripped the coffee cup tighter, trying to calm himself.

"yunie! how's your internship going? mine sucks, professor sanchez is really boring. thank goodness it'll be over next week." he stared at the guy in front of him.

"ej, can you please tone down your voice? i'm not deaf. also, i told you to stop calling me yunie. it's not cute."

ej just chuckled and ignored his demands like he was used to it. this stubborn kid.

even though his grandfather told him that he can choose what he wants, jake insisted on taking up law. he knew how difficult it is, and somehow that was the perfect distraction that he needed.

jake knew ej when he first entered law school. he was the only one who had the guts and the audacity to talk to him, even though jake really didn't want to meet new friends.

ej was persistent on trying to get closer to jake, and he even helped him in adjusting with the classes and environment. he was there when jake was feeling lonely and missing his friends, and ej saw how he struggled with it.

in the end, jake just got used to him being around. now that they're interns, ej still manages to go and visit him on the law firm everyday.

"yunie is cute though? besides, i like calling you by that name."

that nickname reminds me of him...

jake shakes the thought off his head. it's been too long now, he should've stopped thinking about it.

"ah, by the way," ej took out his phone and showed him something. "i finally booked us a flight to korea!"

ah, right. he told ej last time to buy him a ticket, because he wants to see his family and friends. since his internship is ending, he has the time to go home.

last year, jaehyuk actually visited him to personally say sorry and have the chance to talk to their grandfather. they're all doing great now, and jaehyuk is currently taking up creative arts.

his eyebrows furrowed. "what do you mean, us?"

"obviously, i'll go with you! since my parents have also been asking me to visit them, i think it's about time i go home."

jake nodded. well, it's a good thing that ej will be with him. atleast he won't be feeling lonely when he travels.

i'm planning on visiting them too, it's been a long time. i wonder how much they've changed?

also... will i meet him again?

++++++++

《 geonuyah 》

jake:
geonuuuuu
how are you?
it's been a while ☺️☺️

geonuyah:
JAKE OMG WTF
WDYM IT'S BEEN A WHILE
BITCH ITS BEEN YEARS
anyways yeah i'm doing great 😌
it's been so long since you've messaged me 😭
i thought you forgot about me already

jake:
sorry about that, i've been busy dealing with my internship that i haven't even opened my phone lately
and don't worry, i won't forget that ugly face of yours

geonuyah:
who tf are you calling ugly huh
but yeah same
i'm busy here too yano

jake:
btw
i'm going there next week

geonuyah:
hold up
really?
FINALLY?
I'M GONNA SEE MY BESTFRIEND AGAIN 😭

jake:
i'm excited to see you too!

++++++++

"who's that?"

geonu looked up— only to see his boyfriend peeking on his phone, looking curious. he pushed his face away to stop him from reading jake's messages.

"why are you here? i thought you said you were busy with your clients," geonu rolled his eyes.

he was sitting alone inside the cafè for nearly an hour now, since his shift on the hospital just ended. now his boyfriend appeared, sitting comfortably on the chair beside him.

"i was, but you said you were free now." heeseung pulled his chair closer to him and kissed the side of his head. "and i didn't see you for days because of your shift, so i decided to ditch my client."

geonu hummed, leaning towards heeseung. it's true though, they've all been busy with their work that they haven't had enough time for each other. even geonu's friends don't contact each other lately, because all of them are busy with their own lives.

i guess we've reached that point already.

still, they get to talk once in a while. nothing's changed, they just have different priorities now.

"so, who was that?" heeseung asked again, as he felt him bury his face on the crook of his neck.

"you know what, i think you should stop hanging out with nicholas. he's been influencing you."

"hmm, i think so too." heeseung chuckled softly, sending shivers on geonu's spine. "was that jake?"

this guy really.... "yeah."

"i'm sure you missed him."

he nodded. "he told me he's going back here."

heeseung went still for a second, then smiled. "that's great then." and that's a really great news for my friend.

"you're gonna tell him this, aren't you?" geonu seemed to know what he was thinking, so he just shrugged in response.

geonu eyed him. "you better not! let jake enjoy his stay here first. he'll immediately fly back to australia if he sees that guy's face once he steps here."

"i won't, don't worry." i'll just give him a heads up. he smirked.

+++++++

[ engr. always sleeping ]

heeseung:
yo

engr. always sleeping:
i'm busy

heeseung:
busy with who?

engr. always sleeping:
wdym who
i'm busy with this new project

heeseung:
oh, the project with xerxes?
okay
i thought you were busy dating ;)

engr. always sleeping:
tf are u talking about
i barely even have the time to go out of my office

heeseung:
lol i'm just joking
anyways
i have news

engr. always sleeping:
you and geonu getting married?
congrats

heeseung:
what? dumbass no

engr. always sleeping:
i'm wrong? ok
what is it then
hurry up

heeseung:
jake's going back
no reaction?
hello?
or are you that speechless?
ok nvm take your time processing that mf

+++++++++

skaterboi @icehoonie tweeted.

finally.

901 likes | 12 retweets

replies:

@lee_heeseung so this is why you're not replying, you took your time reactivating your twt again 🤦🏻‍♂️
@jongseong huh? did sunghoon's acc got hacked?
↪@lee_heeseung his brain got hacked
@geonuyah heeseung istg i told you not to tell him 👹
↪@lee_heeseung i didn't??? i don't know what you're talking about 🤐

++++++++

one week later.....

jake held his luggage tighter when they finally arrived at the airport. i'm finally back. he looked around, trying to spot a familiar face.

he messaged geonu if he could pick him up the other day. is he not here yet?

"yunie!" jake looked back to see ej hopping, looking like a kid with his pororo stuffed toy. why the fuck does he even have that?

"are you coming with me? i booked a cab," jake sighed. should i just come with him?

he paused on his tracks, thinking. geonu's probably late again, that dumbass. if he waits for his friend, it's probably gonna take a while.

yeah nevermind, i'll just message geonu later.

"okay, let's go—"

"you're not going anywhere."

jake stopped moving when he felt someone  grab his wrist. that voice...

i think my heart just stopped functioning. jake didn't dare to look at his face, because he already knows exactly who he is. fuck, it's him.

so much for coming back.

+++++++

end.

nah i'm kidding lmao HSJSJ we still have one chapter left! 🤩