yuta looked at the male approaching him with a smile on his face. his arms were crossed over his chest as he was leaning against his new car – the one he had acquired after his previous one had been completely destroyed in a car accident.

"hey, you..." the ceo spoke with a small smirk, his eyes looking at the male approaching him from head to toe.

"thank you for picking me up." the other male replied shyly, his head slightly lowered.

"it would have been rude to me not to come and pick up my secretary when he finally got discarded after a whole month in the hospital." yuta shrugged, pushing himself off the car and opening the passenger door for taeyong to climb in.

"you make it seem like you haven't been visiting me almost every day." taeyong rolled his eyes.

after spending a whole month locked in that hospital room, taeyong was much better.

first of all, he had been able to catch up on all of the sleep hours he may have previously missed, so every ounce of tiredness had left his body. also, most of his bruises and injuries had healed almost completely, only leaving a few scars here and there on his milky white skin.

as for his articulations, one of his legs was still wrapped in a few bandages, but it was more of a precaution rather than a necessity.

"mister lee!"

the secretary turned around at the sound of a female voice just as he was about to hop on the car. a familiar nurse was approaching him, an enormous bouquet of flowers in her hands.

"this bouquet was addressed to you, you may want it to leave the hospital with you."

the korean male peeked beyond the wrapping paper to find a small card nestled in the middle of the flowers. he picked it up, opened it to read he message quickly before placing it back where it previously was.

"it's okay. you can keep these flowers. take it as my goodbye gift. thank you for taking care of me." taeong spoke sincerely before getting in the car and letting yuta close the door behind him.

the japanese male then got in the car as well, fastening his seatbelt before starting the engine and driving away from the hospital, allowing taeyong to see something else thant those white sickening walls for the first time in a month.

"so, what did the card say?" yuta asked as they stopped by a red light.

"something along the lines of 'i regret what i did, get well soon'." taeyong replied boredly. "i don't even care to be honest."

"he still sends you flowers twice a week..." yuta pointed out.

"every three days, to be exact." taeyong corrected him.

this had yuta sighing. "right when the previous bouquet starts to fade..." the ceo waited for a few seconds. "that must cost him so much."

"yeah, well, i believe he should have better things to do with his money than sending flowers to someone who doesn't care about him."

the japanese ceo didn't answer to those words.

one month had passed since taeyong got his surgeries. thirty long days during which jaehyun hadn't shown himself, but during which he had made taeyong know that he was still there, waiting for him, and blaming himself for what he made him endure.

yuta was painfully aware of it. he couldn't help to notice the brand-new flowers that were always so nicely disposed in a beautiful vase by the nurses who took care of taeyong. and he had overheard them saying how lucky taeyong was to have someone there for him to send him beautiful flowers every now and then. but if only they knew...

after a whole month, taeyong's thoughts about the korean ceo hadn't changed much compared to how they were the last time he had seen him.

he was still eaten by animosity and anger, feeling mad at himself for falling into this hot guy's trap so easily and not to be able to see that jaehyun wanted nothing more with him than to play with his feelings.

the sole thought of the ceo was still enough to that day to make him revive the shameful moment he had lived when jaehyun's secret had been unveiled on stage, in front of many people and on live broadcast. and more than this shameful moment, it made him revive the accident, which had happened mostly because of jaehyun.

if only taeyong wasn't so head over heels for that ceo, they would never have spent so much time together.

if only they hadn't spent that much time together, jaehyun would have never been able to discover taeyong's secret.

if only jaehyun hadn't discovered about taeyong's secret, taeyong wouldn't have needed driving lessons from the other male.

if only taeyong hadn't needed driving lessons from jaehyun, he would never have known how to drive.

if only taeyong had no idea how to drive, he would never have had the thought of running away with yuta's car.

and if only he hadn't ran away with yuta's car, he wouldn't have had this accident.

so, in the end, it was all jaehyun's fault. or perhaps his fault for not being able to resist to an asshole's charms.

"so, should we get to the headquarters?" yuta questioned after a while, sensing that the atmosphere in the car was quite gloomy. "or is there something else you want to do before?"

"i'm fine with the headquarters." taeyong replied simply. "i missed them."

"they missed you too." yuta assured. "nakamotors without you isn't nakamotors."

taeyong smiled shyly at yuta's words. "good thing i'm back, then." he announced. "and don't worry, this time nothing will distract me from work."

because yes, after one month in the hospital, locked between four white walls with a different extravagant bouquet of flowers every three days, taeyong had been able to think and to reason himself.

and so, he had come to the conclusion that except for his boss, businessmen were all the same: rotten pieces of shit. and he would never even think about involving with one of them ever again.

☏

jaehyun fumbled with the envelope in his hands, reading over and over again the 'to taeyong' he had written on the back of the envelope before glancing up at the familiar apartment building.

it had been two months since he had last interacted with taeyong. two months since he had admitted to the boy that he had fallen for him and that he wasn't intending to keep playing with his feelings. and so, it had been two months since jaehyun's life had taken an unexpected turn, causing him to be locked in his sorrow and his guilt.

he had learnt around two weeks ago that taeyong had been admitted out of the hospital, so jaehyun had stopped sending flowers there. instead, he had decided to send them directly to taeyong's house, hoping that he was staying there and that he was able to receive them.

he added a small note in the flowers each time. comforting words for taeyong to read, and countless apologies for him to make him heart less guilty.

and additionally, he had started writing letters, much longer than the notes, and much more meaningful. he had placed on in taeyong's mailbox a week ago, and he was now debating whether he should drop this second letter there as well.

he doubted taeyong's thoughts on him had changed after so little time and zero interactions, so who knows, this letter may end up in the trashcan before taeyong could even open it. but at the same time, jaehyun felt like he needed to do it. even if taeyong didn't take the time to read them, jaehyun had to make the secretary know that he was still here for him and willing to wait.

it was pathetic. so not jaehyun-like.

but this was how hard jaehyun had fallen somehow. this was how much taeyong had changed him.

the usually confident and cold-hearted ceo had now become a soft and lovesick retired ceo...

because yes, jung corporation had officially closed since jaehyun released a statement around a week after taeyong's surgery. the company was already starting to crumble in pieces, and jaehyun didn't have any will to pull it together again. so, considering he had been able to gather a lot of money thanks to the profit he had made the past years as a ceo, he decided to stop and just rest for a while.

he had more than enough to live comfortably, certainly not forever, but for a few years at least, just the time needed for him to get out of people's minds and to focus on himself a bit.

the retired ceo heaved out a loud sigh, placing his hand on the handle of the door before pulling it to open the door and finally get out. he needed to put the envelope in taeyong's mailbox. taeyong may not read it, but jaehyun had to do it and show that he was still there. and who knows, maybe at some point this would make the korean secretary come back to him...

jaehyun headed towards the entrance door of the building, looking at the intercom and ready to call whoever in order to have the door opened and to access the mailboxes. however, before he was able to press the intercom, someone appeared in the hall, going out from the elevator.

jaehyun gasped, rushing away from the door to hide himself behind one of the bushes next to the door. and as the male that was previously exiting the elevator got out of the building, jaheyun never felt so thankful to himself that he decided to hide.

there was a standing taeyong, holding his phone to his ear and smiling widely at the conversation he was having.

he looked stunning, no more bandages or bruises visible on his pale skin. he was wearing skinny high-waisted jeans and a tight-fitted shirt that he had covered with an oversized jacket. his fingers, wrists and ears were decorated by a few pieces of jewellery, and his hair were styled messily but still looked amazing on him.

actually, jaehyun could have literally drooled and ridiculed himself if he had been standing in front of taeyong when the korean secretary had appeared. thank god he was hidden and could gawk at him from afar without being noticed.

"yes, sorry, i'll be running a bit late, i just left home..." the korean male said to the person on the phone, his smile brighter than it had ever been for the past months.

jaehyun somehow felt jealous, knowing that at some point, he was the one receiving such smiles from taeyong. but he had fucked everything up, so taeyong's smiles were not directed at him anymore.

the former ceo felt a pang in his heart as he looked at the secretary looking at himself in the reflection of the glass door and messing with his hair again while he listened to whatever the person on the phone was telling him.

"no, it's okay, you don't need to pick me up." the secretary said with a chuckle. "i'll grab the bus, don't worry."

jaehyun watched as taeyong diverted his eyes from his reflection before turning around and walking away, surely heading towards the bus stop as he had just said.

he wasn't going to lie, it hurt a lot, seeing the male he had fallen in love with wanting to do nothing with him. but people say time heals, and somehow, jaehyun was aware that two months wasn't enough to digest such a huge secret.

so, the only thing he could do was wait for him, and letting him know that he was still there and willing to wait for him. and it's exactly what he did, ringing at a random floor, and hoping that a kind soul would open the door for him to drop his heartfelt letter in taeyong's mailbox.

☏

"thank you very much for the help, sir."

"no problem. please fill in the satisfaction survey that will be sent to you via email in a while." the electrical engineer declared, flashing the young lady with whom he was his best smile.

"of course. goodbye."

"goodbye." sicheng bowed at her before exiting her house, exhaling a long sigh as he walked back towards his car which he had parked in the street a few streets down.

it had been three months since he had gotten back to his normal life, dealing with clients every day and not going out with anyone at night, and he had to admit he was starting to find this life boring.

he never imagined he would be saying that one day, electrical engineering being his passion and his reason to live, but somehow, things had changed a lot when sicheng had gotten involved with jaehyun and they had changed for the better. but now, he was back to the life he had previously chosen and he couldn't help but start to miss the wildness of his and jaehyun's adventures.

he missed those times when it was him, jaehyun, yuta and taeyong against the rest of the world.

well, actually, it was more jaehyun against yuta, and taeyong physically with yuta, but mentally with jaehyun and sicheng physically with jaehyun but mentally with yuta. well, it was a big mess which had the four of them entangled in some sort of weird rivalry friendship, and sicheng missed it now that their little group had exploded.

jaehyun and him still met from time to time, and this was maybe the only thing allowing sicheng to keep his sanity.

the boy may not be a ceo anymore, but it was still so comforting to be by his side, just like the old days when sicheng would pretend like he was his boss.

they often talked about everything and anything, just like friends would, because that's what they actually were, friends. sicheng was really happy to be able to call the former ceo as his friend, and he knew that despite jaehyun never voicing it out, he really valued their friendship as well.

in fact, to jaehyun, this friendship was the last thing he had left. he had lost his business, he had somehow lost his family, and he had lost his lover, all at once. but he hadn't lost his friend, and this meant that he needed him more than ever. so, sicheng could only comply as he was also very happy to spend some time with the other, even if it was only the time of a conversation around a cup of coffee – or black tea in jaehyun's case.

just as he took a seat in his car, rejoicing himself that he was finally done with his last intervention of the day, his phone rang, displaying his evil boss' name.

the chinese male could only let out an annoyed groan before answering the call and making every ounce of bitterness disappear from his voice.

"hello, sir?"

"sicheng, are you done with your intervention?"

"yes, i just finished." he replied honestly.

"good. there's someone that called me for a tv intervention. i believe it's just a matter of poor cable management."

the chinese boy didn't say anything, silently cursing the idiot who didn't know how to order wires and who was about to give him more work for something that shouldn't even be requiring the intervention of a technician.

"i just sent you the address, it's not far from where you are. please go intervene there before going back home."

"yes, sir..." sicheng simply answered, knowing better than saying no to his boss.

"great. i'll see you tomorrow at the shop, then."

"goodbye."

sicheng hung up, checking his messages and finding the address his boss was talking about. he put it in his navigation app and – cursing once again the asshole who had just given him more work – started driving towards his destination.

his boss was right for once, the place was fairly close from where he was as he got there in a matter of minutes. and so, he was able to drive through the gates of a beautiful property after ringing at the intercom and receiving an invitation to park inside.

the electrical technician got out of his car, dusting off his ridiculous orange uniform before walking to the back seat to grab his heavy bag of material – all sorts of electric stuff that he may need to make an intervention. he then put on his best smile, hoping that it didn't look too fake – even though he was really pissed that he had been asked to do another intervention – and headed right to the front door of the property before ringing the doorbell.

the door was pulled open after a second, and sicheng immediately started his usual speech.

"hello, i'm the electrical technician from nano electronics. i was asked to come because of a..."

he was never able to finish his sentence. actually, his words somehow got stuck in his throat the second he lifted his head properly to look at his client, surprisingly causing his eyes to meet very familiar ones.

"o-oh..." the chinese male stuttered out. "h-huh... s-sorry. i-i'll call a-another technician for... f-for your tv..."

the technician was about to turn on his heels and run away from the house the fastest he could, but before he could put his plan into action, a hand grabbed his wrist, and he was jerked backwards to face the client again.

"my tv doesn't have any problems, sicheng." the client stated, still not letting go of sicheng's wrist. "i just wanted to see you and to talk to you."

the chinese male stood frozen on his spot, his eyes looking up and down at the man in front of him as he recalled the words that had been thrown to his face three months prior, after all of the drama had happened.

i need some time to think.

and i believe you do too.

i'll call you.

"y-you... wanted to see me?" sicheng repeated, his heart pounding hard in his chest.

no matter how hard he had tried, he hadn't been able to get rid of his feelings during those past three months when they had been ignoring each other.

they had never crossed paths again, never called, never sent each other any text message. the urge to do so had been very hard to resist, but sicheng knew better than ruining everything because he was too greedy.

so he had waited day and night for that call from yuta, the one that would arrange everything.

but the call had never come, and sicheng had started losing hope slowly. but unfortunately, his hope and his feelings hadn't been linked, meaning that as he lost hope day after day, his feelings remained the same, and the will to just run into yuta's arms was becoming more and more bothering with each day passing.

"come inside." yuta didn't answer sicheng's question, simply stepping aside to let sicheng walk in.

the chinese male did as he was told, following yuta inside the mansion and immediately being met with a familiar smell.

"w-wagyu beef...?" he mumbled under his breath.

"yes." yuta nodded. "i called my mother so that she could help me cook it. i hope you haven't had your dinner yet."

"i-i haven't." sicheng replied honestly, quite startled by the sudden little attention from the male he had been avoiding for the past months.

"good." yuta smiled shyly. "let's eat first, then? and we'll talk after."

sicheng was no one to refuse such a proposition, and so, after earning a nod from him, yuta invited the electrical technician to the dining room where the table was already set for two people.

under yuta's commands, sicheng took a seat at the table and yuta soon brought the plate of wagyu beef to the table, cutting a piece for sicheng before putting it in his plate with some vegetables he had cooked as well.

the atmosphere during the meal was very strange, but somehow not too bothering for yuta and sicheng.

from the looks of it, it seemed like two close people having a heart-felt meal together, the food being so good that it didn't give them any time to talk. but in reality, it was just that neither of them dared to talk and ruin what they were having right now, which seemed so familiar and which they didn't want to let go.

both of them knew that they were bound to have a conversation on what would be happening to them, but at the same time, they just wanted to enjoy what they had right now as it seemed like they were back in time when everything was alright between them.

sicheng couldn't help but wonder if yuta still had feelings for him. he must admit it wouldn't make much sense for the japanese male to cook a 3-star michelin worthy meal to sicheng before telling him that he moved on, but at the same time, yuta was someone very polite who had lots of principles that sicheng respected. and so, it wouldn't be surprising that this was a way for yuta to reject sicheng nicely and leave a last good memory of him in sicheng's mind.

on his side, yuta's state wasn't much better.

a thousand questions were running in his mind, making him wonder if he had made the right choice. was it too early? too late? was calling sicheng's boss instead of sicheng himself a good move? was making a meal for them to share too much?

and well, the question that was constantly there and that had been bugging him for the past three months still took a big part of his mind. did sicheng still have feelings for him?

after three long months of staying alone with his thoughts, yuta had come to the conclusion that there was no way he'd be able to stay far away from sicheng.

as much as he had been mad for what sicheng had done and hidden from him, he couldn't stay mad at him for long.

first, he had understood that the secrets sicheng had kept weren't his secrets to tell. and just like yuta, sicheng was a man of principles, and he valued his friendship with jaehyun, which most likely had been one of the reasons why he hadn't spilled his secrets so carelessly.

then, he had realised that if he had been in a similar situation, he would probably himself have reacted the same way as sicheng, so he had no right to be mad at him for something he would have done as well.

and finally, he had realised he was way too in love with the chinese male to care about it. as wrong as what sicheng may have done, yuta was in too deep, and so, the sole fact he was dong sicheng was enough to make yuta forgive him instantly.

so, yeah. despite waiting for three months, yuta was still head over heels for sicheng, and he had already forgiven him long ago.

"a-are we... going to talk now?" sicheng questioned after a long silence when he noticed his and ytua's plates had been empty for a while, but that neither of them had started talking.

"if you are okay with it, yes." yuta replied, looking into sicheng's eyes as the chinese male shyly gazed away, still intimidated by the japanese male.

"y-yes, of course..."

sicheng had rarely been this stressed in his life.

but right now, sitting in front of yuta, the male he still had such strong feelings for, as they were about to talk about what was happening between them, he was near to lose control completely.

but for the sake of his heart, this vital organ which badly needed an answer to his questions – a positive or a negative one, at that point he couldn't care less, he just needed an answer – he had to stay in place and listen to yuta.

"i want to apologise for all the mean things i said to you when it all happened." yuta started speaking, making sicheng's heartbeat double in speed. "i was very harsh, and inconsiderate of your feelings at that time. and i just turned my back on you so violently, without giving you any explanation."

sicheng gulped, these words being enough for him to mentally find himself on stage at world creativity and innovation day again, reviving his verbal fight with his boyfriend at the time.

it hurt so bad, recalling all those awful words and the painful expressions yuta's face went through.

"but the truth is... i regretted those words as soon as i left. in fact, walking away from you, i guess i processed everything i had said, and i realise how awful and unfair i must have been to you." yuta continued, standing up from his chair with a sigh and taking slow steps towards sicheng. "i was pretty quick to realise that you hadn't hidden things from me to hurt me or anything. you just didn't really have the choice."

"yuta..."

"listen sicheng." yuta spoke again as he reached sicheng's side.

the chinese male looked up into yuta's eyes, finding nothing but remorse and guilt.

"i am genuinely sorry for being unfair to you, and not letting you give me an explanation." he apologised sincerely, pouring all of his heart into these words. "i said we needed time away from each other at that timen i genuinely thought it would help. but now that three months have passed, i realised that all i did was hurt myself, and probably hurt you too."

sicheng gave yuta a shy nod, silently admitting how hard those past months had been for him. and this small action was enough to give yuta the reassurance he needed for his next words.

"look, sicheng..." yuta sighed. "turning my back on you that day had to be the worst decision of my life. i regret every second of it. i regret the words i said; i regret not letting you explain yourself; i regret pushing you away; i regret not running back to you when i realised how wrong i was; and i regret breaking our blossoming relationship."

a tear escaped yuta's left eye, crashing on sicheng's thigh because of how close the japanese male was standing to sicheng.

feeling the watery drop on his body, the chinese male immediately stood up worriedly, his fingers reaching for yuta's cheek to wipe the tear away.

"y-yuta..." he whispered, wide eyes staring into yuta's teary ones.

"i still love you sicheng, i never stopped loving you." yuta admitted, more tears leaving his eyes. "and i have to be the stupidest jerk on this planet to hurt you so bad and make it seem like i could doubt my feelings for you." he continued. "i'm so sorry for everything i made you endure, and a thousand apologies will never be enough to tell you how awful i feel after- "

sicheng had enough of yuta's blabbering. he had enough of hearing the japanese male looking down on himself for something he had done impulsively three months ago.

sicheng couldn't care less about that to be honest. he couldn't care less about it now that he knew he would be able to have his boyfriend back. this was all that mattered right now.

and that, he showed yuta by shutting him up in his rambling with a kiss.

feeling sicheng's lips on his after so long, yuta didn't attempt resisting and pulling away. he had missed the other too much for that.

and so, he let himself melt completely into the kiss, his arms soon finding their way around sicheng's slim waist as sicheng's hands cupped yuta's cheeks, tilting his head to the side slightly to have a better access to his plump lips.

yuta's tongue soon slid against sicheng's lips, prying them open to play with sicheng's own wet muscle as they arched their bodies into each other's.

they kissed like there was no tomorrow, tasting again each corner of each other's mouths, their familiarily being so pleasant to the both of them after three long months of loneliness.

and unfortunately, they were forced to pull out to breathe after a while, but they kept their faces close enough to dive into each other again as soon as they would be able to breathe normally again.

they panted in synch, their eyes never leaving each other's and their heartbeats beating as one, resonating in their ears louder than ever.

"i'm sorry..." yuta apologised again.

"i'm sorry as well." sicheng repeated the japanese's words, which had yuta smiling sincerely at him and pecking his lips quickly.

"so..." yuta started speaking after pulling back. "i guess telling you we needed time away from each other could be considered as a breakup... so, would you like to be my boyfriend again? and for much longer, this time..."

sicheng giggled, shaking his head at yuta's words. "i'm only accepting this offer if by 'much longer' you mean 'forever'." the chinese male replied.

"i didn't mean anything shorter than that, don't worry..." yuta chuckled as well, pulling sicheng's body closer to his.

"mmh..." the electrical engineer pretended like he was thinking. "i guess i'll be your boyfriend again, then."

and with those words said, the two boyfriends laughed together shortly before letting their urges get the best of them and locking their promise in another meaningful kiss.