This is just how I imagine Jeonghan to be looking like right now :)

He's so attractive please 😩

*y/n PoV*

Usually, when someone sees their ex, it's not normal to go running up to them and tackle them in a bear hug.

But after all these years, if there was anything I'd learnt from my introspection, it was that at times I was far from normal.

Being enveloped once again in his arms and breathing in his familiar scent that hadn't changed one bit, I felt so at home, and for a moment forgot about everything else.

I pulled away. "It's so good to see you!" I wasn't lying one bit.

Jeonghan's hand grazed my face gently, caressing my cheek as he stared back into my eyes.

"Good to see you too, y/n," he grinned. "You look good," he whispered, almost as an afterthought, not breaking eye contact until some movement behind my shoulder caught his eye.

"Oh, who is this?" He asked, immediately removing his hands from where they were; one on my face and the other one on my back. I hadn't noticed it at first, it seemed so natural, but now that it was gone, it's absence was clear.

I shook the thoughts out of my head. "Uh, this is Taehyung. I'm not sure if you guys have met properly before." The words came out in a bit of a rush.

Jeonghan smiled at him warmly. That was just his thing- no matter who he was with, he always did his best to try and make them feel comfortable. "Hi, Taehyung, nice to meet you." He stretched out his hand to shake. "I'm Jeonghan."

Tae smiled back at him, shaking his hand once before dropping it.

I took my seat next to him as Jeonghan sat down on the opposite seat facing me.

"So, how's everything?" Jeonghan asked. "How is your brother doing, your parents, and- wait you said you got a new apartment right? How's that? And Rina?"

I smiled. "Great, Jeonghan. Everything's great. My brother just started his work on his PhD, mom and dad are still in New York, and Rina's doing great. And yeah, my brother bought us the apartment. It's pretty nice, though I'm sure your apartment in Sydney tops it."

He grimaced slightly. "Yeah, about that- I'm not living in the same apartment anymore."

"What? Why?"

"It was a shared apartment with my girlfr-well, ex- girlfriend now," he said, with a bit of a sheepish smile. "We broke up a few months ago, in February actually." He frowned.

"Oh- im so sorry to hear that, Hannie," I said, using the nickname that I'd given him back at uni in hopes of making him smile.

It worked, and I found myself distracted by his beauty once again before I focused on what he was saying.

"-way to find out, I mean- I told her I wasn't planning on coming home for the night because I thought I would still be at work, but I finished super early so I decided to come and surprise her with food." He facepalmed lightly. Before continuing:

"Opened the door and there's another guy in my bed, I mean-" he broke off his sentence, rolling his eyes and running his hand through his hair, a habit I used to find so attractive.

"She cheated on you? Are you serious? You? Who would cheat on you?" I bit my cheek as the words came out of my mouth, realising how different they sounded in my head.

It was true though, he had everything. If a girl was shallow enough to just want looks, she'd be happy. If another wanted popularity, boom, wish granted- he was a people magnet. If someone just wanted a loving and caring boyfriend, he was the one.

He smiled gently and reached out for my hand that was laid on the table, locking his fingers into mine. We just sat there in silence for a few seconds, taking in each others' presence.

Then he turned to Taehyung. "How about you? I mean, what do you do, how are things?" It was a pretty vague question, but I appreciated Jeonghan for trying to make Tae feel more comfortable by asking him questions.

"I'm not working right now, I've been on leave for a couple of months, but I manage global tech services in my family company."

"Nice, nice. And you live around here?"

"Yeah, I moved back here a couple of months ago, I was living in Daegu for a little over a year before that."

"Cool." He nodded, clearly racking his brain for another question to ask Taehyung.

"Jeonghan, how come you're visiting?" I asked, diverting the attention so neither of them would feel uncomfortable. "All of a sudden, I mean."

He scratched his neck. "Well, um I came back to Korea just to visit my parents and sister pretty much, and since the flight came straight to Seoul I thought I'd spent a few days here before visiting them."

"They don't live here anymore?" I was shocked that I didn't know about this, but to be fair, we'd kind of cut off contact.

"My parents still live in Seoul, but my sister moved in with her boyfriend." He frowned at the mention of his sister's boyfriend.

"You don't like him?" It was unusual for Jeonghan to so openly dislike someone.

"No, no, he's great and all, it's just that- he's dating my younger sister. I have to hate him."

I laughed. "By that logic, Jeonghan, my brother should have hated you. But he didn't. Don't worry, you don't have to hate him."

Beside me, Tae cleared his throat, before backing out of his chair and standing up. Without a glance towards us, he stalked over to the restroom.

My eyes lingered on him as he walked away, a little nervous now that he wasn't here. What's there to be nervous about? This is Jeonghan, I told myself.

I looked back up at him from our fingers that were laying interlocked on the surface of the table. The contact was easy to misinterpret- but I didn't really care what others thought at the moment, to be entirely honest.

Jeonghan's eyes bore into mine. "I missed you, you know," he said quietly, a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks. 

I felt the blood rush to my face too as he said that, and smiled. Because truth be told, I'd missed him too.

"So, are you staying at your parents place? When did you even land?"

"I landed this afternoon, actually. Went to a gym where you don't need membership to use, you can just pay for a single use, and I showered and freshened up there before coming. And no, I need to find a hotel to stay at tonight, I didn't think this though very well."

I laughed. "You? Not thinking things through?"

"I meant to surprise my parents by showing up at their house, okay! I called them when I landed and found out they weren't home then."

I grinned, but then thought through his situation. I should probably help him find a place ti stay, then. I looked down at my phone to check the time.

"Well, do you want to stay at my place for tonight? It's already past seven, it'll be hard to find somewhere now other than the super expensive five stars." I looked up at him, raising my eyebrows in questioning.

His eyes lit up with hope. "Seriously? Are you sure? Your brother would be okay with that?"

"Yeah, for sure, as long as you don't sleep in my room," I joked, and he cracked a smile. 

"Thanks. I'll need to get my bags and stuff, though, I left them at one of those daily locker service things."

I knew exactly what he was talking about- I'd used those things plenty of times when I went swimming. You had to put in a little money deposit and then you'd get a safe sort of thing to put your things in. Then you'd put in your netbanking number and they'd charge you for every extra hour.

I'd always gotten a small locker just for my phone, money, keys and extra bag of clothes for work, but I figured he'd probably gotten a bigger one or multiple for his bags.

"Okay, then, we can pick your stuff up and you can come over. That'll be great. And don't worry about dinner, there's food at home," I said, standing up.

"Y/n?" I turned to see Taehyung standing behind me, fiddling with the hem of his tshirt. "I have to go, I'll see you tomorrow, or day after, whenever you're free, okay?"

"Wh- okay?" I shook my head in confusion "you can-"

He pulled me in for a quick hug, twisting his fingers into my hair. Caught off guard, I just stood there for those couple of seconds until he let go.

He gave me one final nod and smile before walking out of the restaurant, leaving me behind with Jeonghan.

That was abrupt, I thought, before turning to Jeonghan, who was no doubt confused.

"Okay, then, let's get your stuff and get home." I told him, and followed him out of the restaurant and onto the pavement.

We walked in silence for a while, and I dropped my brother a quick call to tell him that Jeonghan was staying over. He seemed okay with it, but repeated to me at least six or seven times that Jeonghan was to sleep in the common area on the mattress. Since it was almost summertime, it was much warmer and so the cold wouldn't be an issue, anyways.

My brother even asked to speak to Jeonghan, and they talked over the phone for a few minutes, until we reached the locker place where he'd left his bags.

We were now on the way home from there, talking about how things were for him now in Australia. 

To be entirely honest, I kind of wanted to know more about what happened with his girlfriend, simply out of curiosity as to why that would even happen, but I kept my mouth shut. It was none of my business anyway. 

"Have you...you know...?" He looked over with a teasing grin.

"Huh?" I shook myself out of my thoughts "what?"

"Gone on a date since...Junsu?"

"You knew I broke up with Junsu?"

"Please, you guys were friends, it was so obvious. You can only go so far without actually loving each other, it was bound to end at some point."

It was heartwarming to see that he knew me so well, and that he cared even though we weren't a thing anymore.

"Well, no. I was talking to this guy Daehyun, who I thought was so cute, for a while, but he turned out to be a total- I don't even know what to call him, disgusting-"

"What happened?" 

"He kept trying to meet up with me, and that was fine because I was eager to see him too, but somehow it just didn't happen for a while, I was really busy. Then for Yoongi's birthday I was out with my friends at a bar, and he happened to be there too, and that's where I figured that all he wanted was to get into my pants."

 I let out a sigh. "He just touched me, kissed me-" I shuddered.

Jeonghan looked disgusted, and rolled his eyes. "Some people," he muttered, "just want physical things, that's all."

I kept my mouth shut, assuming he was referring to his ex.

"The guy she was cheating on me with," he began to speak by himself, and so I listened. "Lived in the flat above ours. He's married."

"Is?" I couldn't help but interject there. 

"He's got a daughter, about a year old," Jeonghan explained. "And his wife didn't want her daughter to grow up without a father present, so she didn't file for a divorce." His voice was uncharacteristically bitter.

"That's- I don't even know what to say. I can't imagine ever having done that." I bit my lip. It was depressing to think that some people's selfishness wasn't even punished, and forgiven instead.

"She's incredible, you know, the mother. Her work ethic, her selflessness, everything. Reminds me of my own mom sometimes."

I smiled. "That's nice." But there was still that gnawing feeling of irritation at how such an amazing person had been so wronged and her husband had gotten off with no consequences.

Jeonghan sighed. "And you know, when I asked my girlfriend why she did it, she said it was because I was no good physically. Said I had a pretty face, and that's all it was. She told me that after the years that we had been together she expected more from me physically. That guy was a part time gym coach or whatever, totally ripped. Better body than mine, and I guess that's all she wanted. And- oh shit, I'm ranting aren't I? I'm so sorry y/n."

"No, no no, it's fine, Jeonghan. And I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Don't take what she said to heart, you're incredible, okay? Yes you're absolutely gorgeous, and even if it seems scandalous, I can say that I know you have a great body." I smiled at the flush that came to his face at the mention, ignoring the heat in my own cheeks.

"-and more than anything, you're a great person, Jeonghan. Sure, things didn't work out between us in the end, but all that means is that it wasn't meant to be. We fought, we argued, but years later I can still look back on our relationship with a smile, and still think of you as a very dependable friend. That's something."

We had reached my apartment building and I led him through the lobby area to the stairs. We walked up in silence.

"Do you really?" He asked suddenly.

"What?" I pulled the keys out of my pocket.

"Do you really still think of me as someone you can depend on?" He had a bit of a sad smile on his face.

"Yes, yes of course."

"But you never called," he frowned.

"Because you had a girlfriend, Jeonghan. It's not like we completely fell out. Birthday messages, chuseok messages, we still talked, I just wasn't sure if it was my place to keep too much in contact with you when you appeared to be in such a serious relationship, and I'm sorry about that. I thought I was a closed chapter of your life."

"I thought I was a closed chapter of your life too," he said so quietly it was almost a whisper, before pulling me into a hug. 

I hugged him back, melting into his contact because there was nothing about it that was anything more than friendly.  

And in that moment I was blissful.

***

*Tae PoV*

This is getting out of hand, I thought to myself, as I dried my hands on the paper towel in the men's room. 

Everything about Jeonghan was so likeable, which just annoyed me even further. Apart from the looks, he was eager to try and make me feel included and clearly had a bearing of how to work with people, because the warmth of that smile was genuine, and almost made me want to smile back.

Almost.

But all the positivity I'd felt towards his personality disappeared the second I saw the way y/n looked at him, the way her eyes lit up whenever he spoke.

Not to mention the way she reacted to him being cheated on. Not gonna lie, my thoughts were the same as to wondering who would ever cheat on him, but hearing her say it out loud with that much surprise just hurt.

 Maybe it was the way they locked fingers, stared into each others' eyes, and she looked more like she was genuinely in love than you've ever seen her, a nasty voice in my head said.

Irritated, I pulled open the men's room door to walk back to the table, but froze as I heard their conversation from where I was standing.

Y/n looked up at him."Well, do you want to stay at my place for tonight? It's already past seven, it'll be hard to find somewhere now other than the super expensive five stars." She raised her eyebrows.

His eyes lit up with hope. "Seriously? Are you sure? Your brother would be okay with that?"

"Yeah, for sure, as long as you don't sleep in my room," She joked, making him smile. 

"Thanks. I'll need to get my bags and stuff, though, I left them at one of those daily locker service things."

That's it, Taehyung. You're done for. Done. They're gonna spend the night and tomorrow morning, and she's gonna realise just how much she's missed him, and she's going to tell him how she feels, and he's going to say the same, obviously, and they're going to start dating, because this is a couple that could make long distance work and that's it Taehyung, you're done for.

And her brother was okay with him staying? I was even worse off than I assumed. A kind of numbing resignation settled over me as I heard her speak again.

"Okay, then, we can pick your stuff up and you can come over. That'll be great. And don't worry about dinner, there's food at home," she said.

I knew her well enough to know she was going to invite me along but I just couldn't stand being around Jeonghan any longer, I might even start being friendly to him.

I mustered up the courage to open my mouth. 

"Y/n?" She turned to face me. "I have to go, I'll see you tomorrow," but if things go well for the two of them, they'll  be hanging out together tomorrow, dumbass, I thought.

"Or day after, whenever you're free, okay?" I added as an afterthought.

"Wh- okay?" She shook her head. "you can-"

Before she could finish her sentence I pulled her in for a quick hug before leaving the restaurant as quickly as I could. 

I was out on the pavement speed walking from the place in a random direction as fast as I could because there was only one thing in my head. 

She didn't hug me back.

A/n: I'm sooo excited for the next part!!! Quick announcement, though, before that. 

After I publish chapter 30, I am planning to take the whole story so far under some editing, just reorganising paragraphs, fixing grammatical error, word choices etc. There will be no major changes to plot, characters or relationships, just maybe a couple more interactions between characters with no implications on the plot to come.

It shouldn't take long, but some time will go into it, so please do excuse me, especially since I have exams coming up as well. Hopefully we'll get to 1k by then, and there's even a new cover coming, a special 1k gift from my amazing friend eris. I'm not able to tag her here for some reason lmao sorry.

That's all loves :)

Have a wonderful day or night and don't forget to vote and comment if you enjoyed.