️⚠️ Trigger warnings:

Angst

Heartache

Strong Language

♡♡♡

Jin's POV

Canada - Québec City

A week later

Jin's new office

"Jin, you've really turned this place around in the two weeks that you've joined us! I'm impressed!" My new boss, Namjoon says to me.

Mr. Kim Namjoon is a young, enthusiastic and passionate Logistics and Supply Chain Management. He's been heading the new operations in Québec City for the last year. And we just happen to have the same surname. Namjoon is Yoongi's cousin and the two are business partners, due to the company outsourcing their HR requirements to Yoongi's company.

I felt so free here in Canada.

I was finally far away from the Ji family and their fucking psychotic drama.

Everyday after work, Yoongi and I go home and prepare dinner, usually flipping a coin to decide who will cook and who'll do the dishes.

Yoongi is a brilliant cook. He makes the best kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew), kimchijeon (kimchi pancake), bibimbap, japchae, Tteokbokki, Bulgogi, jajangmyeon and ofcourse, Korean fried chicken.

He makes these way better than I do.

We had Namjoon over last weekend and I can't remember when was the last time I laughed that much.

I don't think I've ever had a guy's night out before, either. Most of my friends were just kept at a distance because I lost faith in humanity for a while. And Tae was really young for me to go drinking with him.

Then, I totally gave up alcohol, not trusting Yoon-ah or my twin brother, So-jin.

Prevention is better than cure, right?

Namjoon had brought with him a few bottles of Soju. Having just landed here from Seoul, it wasn't anything new for me. But the taste was amazing. It was unlike Soju I've ever had in Korea.

It was strong stuff... Potent!

We ate, drank and talked about life a little.

Though the highlight of the night was Namjoon's attempt at helping us chop up onion and other vegetables for the bulgogi gimbap we were assembling. He didn't know how to hold the knife nor was he able to cut anything once he got his grip on the knife right.

That was the last time we drank with him before we cooked.

Last night he came over again, but we only opened the wine after I had the spaghetti bolognese served on the table.

I've been so busy settling in here, preparing for Tae to move here as well, that I hadn't had a chance to check my personal emails or switched sim cards. I didn't want to connect my personal laptop either.

It was too much effort and there was so much to see here in Canada!

Yes, I've spoken to my brother from Yoongi's home telephone and sometimes his smartphone, but I still needed my own functioning cellphone.

'I'll get to that later...' I think to myself.

I needed to finish up this month-end sales review and familiarize myself with the company's financials for the last quarter, then submit a projected financial report to the higher ups.

And with that I got back to scrolling down the screen in front of me.

'Oh yeah... I need to pick Tae up from the airport today.' I remember, my eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

My life was settling in here in Quebec city. I found my new normal.

♡♡♡

Québec City Airport

Arrivals lounge

Everything had happened so quickly. I didn't even have time to think about Eun-Tak. Not that she mattered much to me anymore.

But now that I've settled in and Taehyung is about to land on Canadian soil for the first time, I found myself standing here at the Arrivals lounge, looking out for her amongst the crowds instead of my brother.

'Stop being so silly, Jin. She asked you to leave!' I chided myself.

'Besides, even if she was here, she's just a reminder of your past. A reminder of her sister.' I reminded myself.

It was odd how different the two sisters actually were. They were like chalk and cheese.

Much like So-jin and I.

He's the chalk.

Yoon-ah was a dumb, sex crazy bitch who couldn't tell me apart from So-jin. Even though he had green eyes and thinner lips.

Perhaps she didn't care?

On the other hand, Eun-Tak was kindhearted, caring and very innocent. Not once had she made me feel uncomfortable. I could relax around her. I could allow myself to be loved by her.

Of course I had tried to date after my horrible experience with Eun-Tak's sister. But who'd want to be with anyone when all they could think about was the trauma they experienced? Yes I liked Yoon-ah at one point a long time ago and I'd kissed her the first time.

The truth is, when had I kissed Yoon-ah all those years ago, there was a second where I thought maybe she might just be a nice girl, but, that thought had evaporated faster than the water that had splashed on the deck when I reeled in a fish earlier that day.

Every time I tried to kiss a girl after that, I'd end up freezing before my lips met hers; or the minute my lips met hers, I would pull back and apologise before taking off.

And I disliked physical contact. Except when I was with Eun-Tak.

Or my little brother and my new friends. But I guess that's because my dislike is not related to any sort of trauma.

Women didn't understand why I didn't hug them or shake hands with them.

I simply couldn't bring myself to do so. They were dramatic creatures that complicated life and only looked at my face.

I wanted one woman only.

Because with Eun-Tak... it didn't matter. The memories were completely nonexistent.

♡♡♡

"Hey, Jin hyung, would you mind if Namjoon and his friends Hoseok, Jimin and Jungkook join us for dinner tonight?" Yoongi says to me as we wait at the airport's arrivals lounge, freeing me from the prison of my thoughts.

"Uh- yeah, sure. I think it would be good to meet more people here... I technically only know you and Namjoon. And well... the two ladies I work with at the office." I smiled at him gratefully.

"Awesome! I know they'll enjoy your cooking!" He grinned his gummy grin at me.

He was clearly excited to have the house full of people.
After all, loneliness tended to do that to a person. I knew this well.

"What time was Tae's flight meant to land?" He asked, casually clearing his throat and changing the topic.

"7 p.m. But it's only 06:35 p.m. now. Why? What's up Yoongi?" I asked, glancing at him casually from the railing I stood by.

"Nothing hyung. It's just that to me, it doesn't seem like you're waiting here for your little brother. It seems more like you're waiting here for Eun-Tak." He says pointedly to me in a serious tone.

I caught myself glancing at the gate once again, just as Yoongi had said that. I looked down guiltily and then back at him.

"You're right... I don't know why I am but I find myself waiting for her small figure to appear through those gates." I admitted to him in a soft whisper.

"It's okay hyung. If she loves you, she'll come back into your life. All you have to do is just focus on your own life now. You just started a new job. Tae is moving here too. Let you both settle in. Then perhaps you can give her a call or pay her a visit. If you want to that is." He claps my shoulder and walks off to sit at a round table near the bay window overlooking the planes that were landing.

What he said had made perfect sense. And as usual, I felt better after he spoke to me.

I walked to the café nearby and bought us milkshakes. Chocolate mint for him and strawberry for me.

When I returned, I saw that already, two guys had joined our welcome party.

"Hi. I'm Jung Hoseok, hyung." He bowed briefly to me, then stretched out a hand to shake mine. I took his hand to shake but gave him a man hug, clapping him on the back and introduced myself.

"Good to meet you, man. I'm Kim Seokjin."

"Hyung, Anyeonhaseyo. I'm Park Jimin. Good to meet you." He bowed slightly, smiling a little shyly at me.

"Good to meet you too, Jimin." I smiled back.

"Hyung, thank you for the milkshake. But you're our guest, we should be treating you!" Yoongi says, trying to break the ice.

He knew I wasn't very good at greeting new people.

"Hey, do you guys wanna get a milkshake or something? I'm so sorry I didn't know you'd be joining us here at the airport." I apologised to the two new guys.

"No thanks hyung. We're just here for support. And Yoongi hyung and Namjoon have been talking about you for a while. You joined the Finance team. I work in Operations." Hoseok said to me, smiling brightly.

"Oh I see, you're part of the team! Awesome." I say, glad to have met someone else from my new workplace.

"Yeah, and Jimin and Jungkook are part of the outbound logistics department... Jungkook's running a little late. He'll be here by 7 p.m." Hoseok added chirpily.

"Thanks for coming. It's good to meet you guys." I say politely.

All the while, Yoongi lounged back on the sofa like a cat, observing us with interest.

Jimin sat quietly, but then braved up a little, joining in the conversation Hoseok and I were having about the share market's recovery this year.

"Hyung, so you're from Korea! Wow! I've always wanted to go there." Jimin says excitedly.

"Well, you definitely should when you get the chance to. It's beautiful. Especially in the summer." I added, thinking about the fishing I used to do when I was younger.

Jimin and Hoseok were born in Canada, but their accents were perfectly normal when they spoke Korean.

Jungkook, as Hoseok promised, had arrived at 7 p.m. He got a little lost outside, having gone to the Departure section before backtracking and finding us.

He seemed really young. His eyes were large and curious and he bowed a little too deeply when we greeted each other.

Something about these guys gave me the impression that they were really good company to keep and I enjoyed the conversations we've had this past half hour.

It was easy to talk to them, almost as if I were talking to Taehyung.

♡♡♡

Ten minutes later

"... And there's my little brother, Taehyung." I gestured for the others to see, grinning proudly as Tae walked in through the gate, rolling his luggage behind him.

"Hyung." He said, opening his arms wide and hugging me tightly, almost in tears. "It's so good to see you hyung. It felt like forever since you left us in Seoul." He said to me, his eyes were sad.

"Hey, don't cry my small Gremlin. We have new friends here waiting to meet you." I say to him as he wiped his eyes.

"Hi Taehyung!" Yoongi greeted him with welcoming open arms.

"Anyeonhaseyo hyung." Tae bowed slightly before hugging Yoongi.

"Tae, this is Hoseok, Jimin and Jungkook." I say to my brother, introducing our new friends.

"Anyeonhaseyo." He bowed to them, but they hugged him instead, welcoming him to Québec City and Canada at large.

"You know, Taehyung, Jimin is the same age as you. And Jungkook is only two years younger than you. So you shouldn't worry about not having any company here. We're all here for you should you ever need anything." Yoongi says to Taehyung.

"That's right." Namjoon says, joining our welcome party.

"Namjoon! You made it!" Yoongi says to his cousin.

"Welcome, Kim Taehyung, to Québec City and to DHL International, Canada." Namjoon gives Tae a dimpled smile.

"Thank you hyung. I look forward to working with you." Tae says, bowing to him out of respect. Namjoon stopped him, shaking his head to indicate that it wasn't necessary here.

We hung around a few minutes longer, breaking the ice and getting to know the other guys before we headed back Yoongi's house.

We were leaving the guest and Arrivals lounge when someone called after me. The guys stopped and turned to see who it was.

"Oppa?"

My heart stopped at the sound of that voice.

"Jin?"

There it was again.

"Jin oppa?" I heard my name being called out again and froze in the middle of the airport.

The women here didn't call me oppa. That would be ridiculous, most of them were at least ten years older than me.

And that voice... 'No. It can't be her. I left her behind in Korea.'

I turned on my heel as the guys stood there, staring at her.

Taehyung's face had said it all.

And I felt my heart begin to beat once more.

It was Ji Eun-Tak.

♡♡♡

A/n: Thank you for reading 😊