56-2

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Don't worry so much hyung." The use of the honorific immediately makes me turn my head up from my meal. Hansoo's eyes slightly widen and a smile crosses his lips, but Jaewook purposely pays no mind and just continues to turn the meat on the grill. Their relationship, while rocky for a while in the past, had really healed in the past few weeks. While I had moved back in with my brother, Hansoo allowed Jaewook to stay over as a temporary roommate. While Hansoo used to text me complaints about my boyfriend's living habits at first, after a while I could tell he genuinely enjoyed the company. So much so that I keep catching the look of sadness in his eyes and perceiving it as him knowing he's going to hate living alone again. "I can't help but worry," Hansoo says a bit absentmindedly as his thoughts drift and fall into a puddle of melancholy. Hansoo and I just end up staring at Jaewook like this for a while unknowingly. A mixture of pride in witnessing the man he is becoming, but immense sorrow knowing we won't see him very often for the next long while. He doesn't notice for a while as he continues to shove his mouth with food, as he does best. When he does notice his eyes shift upwards at us a few times in surprise, food threatens to leave his mouth as he finally straightens up. "Hey—" his words are muffled as he speaks with his mouth full. He chews a bit more and swallows. "Why are you both just staring at me like that." We just smile in return. While growing into a man, he still possesses so many endearing childlike qualities—you can't help but want to protect him, to ask the universe to take care of him. "We're just going to miss your messiness that's all," I say. "Messiness?" He asks, but as if he planned it, dipping sauce drips from his mouth at that very moment. Hansoo lightly snickers. I lean forward and wipe it away with my thumb. "Yes, messiness. You eat like a toddler. Don't let anyone clean you up like this, got it? Learn to take care of yourself." I scold him and tsk as he just crinkles his eyes at me with a guilty smile. "He's doomed. He hasn't done a thing for himself since birth," Hansoo teases. "Hey! Not true," Jaewook's eyebrows cross in defence. "I got myself a part-time job." This immediately makes the smile on Hansoo's face fall. "Don't remind me," he grumbles. "Seungmin hired some new guy to take your place and he's terrible. He has the worst attitude I've ever seen, and he doesn't even smile at the customers! Does he not know it's a flowerboy service cafe?" Hansoo has been set on fire as he rambles on about the new guy. I just roll my eyes and lean back into my chair. "He doesn't even leave the counter to interact with customers when it's not busy, he just leans against it and scowls like some pretentious—" "Hansoo, shut up," I blatantly tell him. He swallows his next words. "Sorry, he just gets to me. But tonight is about Jaewook," he shifts his energy and, through use of his silver tongue, convinces me to just get one bottle of soju to cheers Jaewook. "To Jaewook's future," he says as he lifts up a shot glass. We repeat with our own, swallowing the burning liquid in hopes to wash away any apprehension remaining in our minds. "Thank you. Both of you," Jaewook says, finally showing the emotion he's been suppressing this whole night. "I would be doing nothing with my life if it weren't for you." His eyes glint and sparkle as they look at me, full of moisture. "I swear to god," I catch a tear of his that bursts from its constraints just in time. "Do not cry in public or else I'm going to too." He just sniffles at me with a smile, eyes just shining even more. I sigh and lean back in defeat. When I turn to look at Hansoo, he's already full on sobbing. "Oh come on!" I shout out at him. "What? " Hansoo says between sniffles. "We can't all be emotionally deficient like you." Silence breaks through the atmosphere, my face surely piercing through the growing mischief covering Hansoo's. And much like months ago, a nasty scowl covers my mouth as I release my fury on him. He just giggles as he shelters his face from my attacks. Jaewook's crying halts as he tries to break us apart. "Seriously? How can I leave without worrying about you two destroying each other," he groans as his arms wrap around me from behind, pulling my back into my seat. "He started it," I say. Hansoo's eyes fall beneath his skin as he smiles cheekily at me. "And you say I act like a child," Jaewook mumbles. ...