After Dusk || Im Changkyun

58. Smile

Chapter Fifty Eight

"What have you been doing on that phone of yours?" You heard Changkyun's voice question before said was pulled out of your hands. You regained sense at the action, feeling yourself spring out of your seat at the table and grab at the phone that was hovering above your head. You tried to reach it, jumping in futile attempts even if you'd latched onto his wrist and hung from it.
"Give it back, Kyun." You whined, letting go of him and opting for simply asking. He raised an eyebrow at you, seeming a lot more offended at your comment than anything else.
"You've been on your phone since we finished breakfast." Changkyun pointed at the table that the both of you had been too lazy to clear,
"I'd like some attention please."
"Kyun, you're being dramatic. We literally finished eating ten minutes ago." You rolled your eyes, admitting defeat and letting him have his way with your phone, crossing your arms while you waited for him to lower his arm. He eventually did so, reluctantly giving your phone back to you.
He peered down, looking at what you were looking at, only to tilt his head in both confusion and shock.
"Is that June?" He questioned, pointing at your phone which was currently on a screen which was of your text conversation. You nodded, looking back at the messages to see if she'd sent any follow up.
"It's the group chat. June, Eunhee, and I?"
"You three have a group chat without us?" Changkyun slapped a hand over his heart with wide eyes, making you laugh.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Sometimes, us sane people get sick and tired of Minhyuk and Jooheon's meme exchange or Hyungwon's life lessons, and even Kihyun's relationship advice. Even his girlfriend is sick of hearing it." You informed, to which he seemed so genuinely hurt. He crossed his arms, huffing before continuing,
"Whatever. We have a group chat without you three too."
"Good for you." You pinched his cheek while you giggled. You looked down, watching Eunhee question June's proposition and June attempt to fight for it.
"Our resident married woman is proposing that we go out in a week or two." You explained, to which Changkyun perked up. He shifted to be in front of you and then collected the plates on the table, throwing them into the sink.
And this is why you didn't use the nice plates for your meals.
"What's the plan? When are we going?" Changkyun questioned, to which you broke out into laughter. He eyed you as you grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him over to that small space between your kitchen and the living room before hugging him. You looked up at him, who was staring at you with anticipation and it was making you laugh even harder.
"Kyun, Danny, love, not you. You're not invited."
"Wow, babe. I see how it is."
"It's a girls night!"
"I can put on a wig and make my voice higher. It works." He argued, crossing his arms while your arms were still wrapped around him. You gave him that "really?" look that you were certainly getting better at but he shook his head, finally cracking with a chuckle.
"What's the idea?"
You smiled at that.
"June seems very adamant on us going to a club."
You felt Changkyun's body go weak as soon as the last word fell out of your mouth, his eyes rolling into the back of his head while he toppled onto the floor, lying limp. You awkwardly bent down next to him, leaving your phone on the counter, trying to pull him up before Ollie came running over, taking the opportunity to curl up on his stomach.
"Kyun?"
"You're going to the club? Have you even been to one? Is it even legal?" He blurted, his eyes both frantic and mildly amused. You scoffed at him, punching his limp arm harder than you usually would. Still not that hard.
"I'm twenty three. And yes, I've been to a club before. I can have fun too, you know."
"What do you mean by fun?"
Your eyes widened unconsciously. It was your turn to be frantic. Changkyun sat up straight at that, raising an eyebrow at your change in expression, knowing something was up. You don't think you'd ever told him about incident. Honestly, you'd practically forgotten about it up until this point.
"Choi Y/N." He scolded quietly, wanting you to speak but his eyes were almost shaking in fear. You wanted to laugh it off but it ended up turning into an awkward chortle that made Changkyun gulp.
"Early last year, you know. I went to the club for the first time." You began, unintentionally beginning to push yourself away from him. Changkyun just looked scared out of his mind.
"It was before we met, and I'd just gotten out of the company so I wanted to know what it was like."
"I don't like where this is going." He murmured, cuddling Ollie close. Your eyes decided to focus on everything but your boyfriend, hiding your embarrassed blush.
"And I may have met a boy and we may h-"
Changkyun choked on air.
"Stop." He slapped his hand over your mouth, yet pulling you into his embrace and rocking you back and forth while limiting your ability to speak, your entire body in between his legs.
"I don't want to hear it." Changkyun pressed his cheek to yours, squeezing you so tight to the point in which you assumed he thought you were a lemon. He cupped your face in his hands, bringing it right in front of his.
"You did not."
You regretfully nodded, holding in your awkward laughter while he dramatically gasped, locking his arms around your neck and rocking you rather violently.
"You're a baby. No you did not."
Your arms were limp at his sides, your entire body in between his on the floor while he hugged you, mumbling things about how much of a baby you are and how it wasn't possible.
"I'm a grown woman, Changkyun." You tried to argue, which only stopped the intense rocking.
"You're a baby. You're my sweet, innocent, pure, adorable baby." He cooed in a way that was making it seem like he was trying to cope with the initial shock of hearing about your little story. Especially since he didn't even let you finish it.
"I can't believe I found this out on our anniversary. Ollie, you don't believe this either, do you?" Changkyun lifted Ollie up off his thigh. You didn't even realize that he'd nearly escaped being crushed in between the both of you.
"Don't be dramatic, Danny Boy. Just because I'm shy and spent a quarter of my life in lowkey confinement: doesn't mean I didn't do anything interesting." You laughed, hitting his chest while he widened his eyes and confusedly laughed with you.
"Anything interesting." He mocked, and you could tell that the news you'd given him of your past still hadn't completely sunk in by the way he was looking at you.
"Stop looking at me like I betrayed you. This happened before we even met face to face."
"This almost hurts as much as finding out my ex was cheating on me." Changkyun laughed playfully but you froze up at that. This time it was your turn to stare at him in shock. You could tell that he was just messing around but you were more taken aback by the fact that he was messing around about that. He'd never done that before. He obviously noticed.
Changkyun loosened his embrace on you, looking like he was about to crack up at the look on your face.
"I know. If you told me three years ago that I'd be joking about my ex-girlfriend, I probably would've tried to jump off that bridge sooner."
"Don't laugh at that!" You hit his chest again, furrowing your brows with a pout.
"Nothing like two people joking about their past trauma." He recited bashfully, seeming more than entertained at the entire situation, but also distracted from the previous one. That put your mind at ease. Kind of.
You'd rather forget the incidents of the club.
"Let's be honest though, Eggo. You didn't know me before last year. You don't know how much of a mess I was for those three years." Changkyun confessed, the mood around the both of you changing once again. You could never stay on one topic for long. Not on one feeling for long. You didn't notice it until it was pointed out.
"When I tell you that I was a wreck, I mean I was a wreck. It hurts me to reminisce that time in my life. When the guys tell you that I didn't smile, they meant that very literally. I don't think I ever genuinely smiled in the time following that day." He frowned, remembering,
"There were the smiles I put up for the press, and the occasional ones that I forced out of myself so I could pretend I was okay. But I genuinely, really, truly hadn't smiled until you came along." Changkyun confessed, getting caught up in emotion. Not the sad kind. Just, the truthful kind. You'd given into it, wrapping your arms around his back and gently rubbing up and down it.
"It's cheesy, and probably overdramatized because there were times where I'd felt happy, but it didn't last the same way it did when your stupidly shy yet determined self came prancing into my heart."
You giggled at that, feeling warm as he looked down at you with shining eyes.
"If you told me three years ago, that I'd be in a happy relationship with a girl that loves me unconditionally and that I'd been reacquainted with my mother, I wouldn't believe it. It would be too good to be true."
Was he trying to get you to cry? It really seemed that way. At this point you assumed that he might cry with you.
"Now I get to talk to my mom, work with her, and my past relationship is finally just my past. I don't even remember her birthday anymore." He chuckled, refusing to leave your gaze.
"What I'm trying to get at is, I'm yours, okay? You've got me wrapped around those little fingers of yours." He played around with them on command, stealing one of the hands that was placed on his back to hold for himself.
"It's us against the world, right?"
"Us against the world." Changkyun repeated with a grin, his pinky interlocking with yours, the rings that you'd both still yet to ever take off clinking together.
"I'll be the cool superhero and you can be my little sidekick."
"Hey! Why do I have to be the sidekick? You're the nerd here." You immediately argued, to which he tsked.
"Typically, superhero's would be able to open a bottled drink." He shot back, making you gasp in offense, but regardless, you couldn't lose this battle.
"Why would the superhero do any of that stuff when she can just make her sidekick do it for her?"
Changkyun opened his mouth to refute but he had nothing, making you smirk in satisfaction.
"Well played, Super Eggo."
You grimaced at that.
"Do me a favor and never call me that again, Kyun."
"You prefer Princess, then?"
"Far more than whatever that was."
Changkyun chuckled, finally bringing you both up off the ground, which was a common place for the both of you for no particular reason. Maybe cause the floor was cold. You didn't know. You just always seemed to end up there.
"So, if we do end up finalizing plans, can I maybe perhaps go to the club with them?" You grinned brightly, batting your eyelashes at him for added effect, even clutching onto one of his arms cutely. He scrunched his nose, and it was urging you to bop it. You did. He didn't react.
"I don't know why you're asking me. Of course you can go. Just no repeats of the last time you went." He warned, to which you trailed off,
"I don't know..."
"Then you're not going."
"I'm kidding." You booped his nose again, throwing him a wink before you relaxed, walking over to lean yourself against the back of the couch. Your sidekick had followed behind you, mimicking your actions.
"So, what do we do now?" You asked, hoping one of you would get a spark of genius. Changkyun shrugged, something on the tip of his tongue but he hadn't uttered.
"You have an idea?" You looked up at him hopefully, wondering if in that head of his, he'd thought of a way for you to spend your anniversary because you certainly hadn't planned for him to be in front of you. Changkyun shrugged again, staring at the other side of the large sectional couch before suggesting,
"Wanna make out?"
You choked on air.
"What?" You coughed out. Was it getting hot in here? Or was Changkyun's bluntness just burning through your heart and your mind?
"I said do you want to make out? Nothing we haven't done before." He finally turned back to you, craning his neck down to meet you at eye level, chuckling at your flushed cheeks and flustered expression.
"Don't you remember?" He wrapped an arm around your shoulder, pointing you towards the very end of the L-shaped sofa, the part that was parallel to the TV.
"We were watching a movie, and then you started playing with my hands and it got me all excited so I kissed you. And you kissed me. And then it escalated. And I picked you up and we went to t-"
"I'm going to have to stop you there." A new voice chimed, causing you to scream in fear and clutch onto Changkyun like your life depended on it. However, the unknown voice that had saved you from an even brighter blush was just Minhyuk, who had strolled into the apartment as if it was his own. You knew you should've changed the key code.
Though you also really wish he hadn't walked in during whatever that conversation was.
"We heard from Y/N's mom that you were back, so we dropped in to say hi." Minhyuk explained slowly, his face somewhere in the middle of hysterics, pain, and amusement.
"But I think we caught you two at the wrong time."
Safe to say, you were hiding in embarrassment behind the cause of your beet red complexion, and he did not seem fazed in the slightest. As if this were an everyday occurrence.
"Wait, none of you have even met my mom. How do you have her number?" You finally realized, peeking out of the edge of his black shirt to narrow your eyes at the dusty blonde.
"We don't." Another voice piped in, poking through your now open front door,
"My wife does though. They're best friends apparently." Shownu smiled, getting all giddy at calling June his wife. Even you had to crack a small one at it. It made you soft. Shownu turned around out the door, only to run back through the hallway. You didn't think much of it, simply hearing footsteps, only for you to assume that other people were heading down to say hello to the person that had been gone for three weeks.
You had barely seen all of them in those three weeks as well. Last you remembered, most of them had their most recent conversation in person with you at the wedding.
"Woah! Wait! Take it slow!" You heard Shownu yell, followed by quick but mismatched aggressive footsteps. You let go of Changkyun, wondering who Shownu had run to and then wondering who he was yelling at.
Jooheon peeked out of the doorway. You didn't think much of it until you realized that his head wasn't at your doorknob. He was just as tall as the guys.
Changkyun and you both gasped when Jooheon took slow steps into your apartment, on his feet, grinning with complete satisfaction. Changkyun took an almost hesitant step forward, looking his best friend up and down before practically running at him, stopping only right in front of him before throwing his arms onto the man. Jooheon faltered back and Shownu was quick to place his hand on the small of his back, stabilizing him with a chuckle.
"Take it easy. We don't want him back in the wheelchair."
Jooheon was laughing, his arms around the slightly shorter Changkyun, ruffling his hair while he held onto him like he'd disappear if he let go. Jooheon turned to you, his eyes creasing in pure joy.
"Thanks for fixing him for us, Y/N. He hasn't hugged me like this in years."
Changkyun pulled away from him, his arms still hanging around his sides, turning back at you.
"You didn't tell me he was back on his feet."
You were still trying to register this all, but you managed to respond with,
"I didn't know either."
He was one of the few you hadn't seen since the wedding. You couldn't believe he was already up on his feet. It was so quick.
Minhyuk snuggled into the two, pressing his cheek against Changkyun's and making grabby hands at the youngest.
"I want a hug too, cutie. It's been like four years."
He got violently pushed to the side.
"Get yourself into a wheelchair then." Changkyun raised an eyebrow and you were about to tell him off for his comment only for Minhyuk to encourage it with a brief,
"And if I do?"
You sighed, giving a helpless smile to June as she walked in to the impromptu party that was going on in your shared apartment, taking her permanent spot beside Shownu. After seeing her for the first time since her leaving, she looked brighter in a sort of way.
It must've been a relaxing honeymoon to Paris.
"It's okay, Min. I'll give you a hug." You tried to compromise, hovering your hand above his forearm. Minhyuk looked utterly delighted, only managing to begin to turn to fall into your willing embrace before something came in between the both of you.
A certain someone to be in fact.
Minhyuk did not look delighted anymore. Not at all.
"No touching other men. Not today. Not after you told me that you had-"
You slapped your hand over the man that was hugging you so tightly by the waist, turning around in his hold so you could glare at him.
"Don't finish that sentence."
The others stared at the two of you staring at each other for a solid ten seconds in silence, not knowing what to do, and the both of you not knowing when to look away.
"Ah, do you mean Mr. Spicy One Night Stand?" June exclaimed, laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world.
"June!" You shrieked in her direction, causing Changkyun to flinch away from you. You'd noticed as soon as his hands pulled away slightly. You turned back, pouting just a bit.
"I'm sorry." You apologized immediately, instantly feeling bad for catching him off guard all of a sudden like that.
"It's alright." He chuckled while shaking his head but you still felt apologetic despite the fact that his grip on you had tightened once again and his head was slowly leaning to rest on top of yours.
"I wanted a hug, not to watch my little practically brother gush over his girlfriend." Minhyuk complained under his breath but loud enough for everyone to hear. Jooheon shuffled over to him carefully, taking
Minhyuk into his embrace, making the once sulky blonde light up, hugging him back happily.
"This is why I love Jooheon the most folks."
"Kihyun is going to stop sending you food if he finds out you said that." Jooheon argued but Minhyuk put a finger to his lips, shushing the entire room.
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Or my occasional Saturday night pasta."
"Is no one questioning what I said before?" June finally chimed in, cheekily putting attention on the thing you'd rather her not speak of. You regret telling her all of your memories now.
Curse her beautifully extroverted self.
"I'm questioning why you said 'spicy', Buttercup." Shownu responded, only causing the copper head to smirk even more. You gulped again, getting nervous and knowing exactly where this was about to go.
"Because the story is hot, my dear husband. It's something out of one of those sexy rom-com's."
"June, I think the victim's boyfriend is either about to punch a wall or start bawling." Jooheon chortled, pointing at the very upset Changkyun. His bottom lip jutted out like a little baby but his eyes were annoyed and his fists were clenched while around you.
"I already shed enough tears today." Changkyun mumbled through his pout, causing you to sigh knowing that you'd have to deal with a sulky boyfriend after everyone was gone. Even while everyone was here.
"We'll leave then. You guys can continue where you left off." Shownu chimed, arm around June's shoulder and already inching out the door that they were standing right by.
"Have fun making out." Minhyuk teased while still wrapped up with Jooheon. Changkyun's expression went through a full 360 at his words, a mischievous grin falling onto his face before he uttered,
"Will do."
You'd only made a second of eye contact before his hand was on your neck and he was leaning in with a party of people still surrounding you. Your eyes widened, the tips of your fingers at his plush lips for the nth time this day, stopping him from getting any closer.
"I thought those two were the youngest." June shook her head disapprovingly, as if she wasn't smiling her heart out watching romance play out in front of her.
"Nice tattoo by the way." She pointed out, and you'd almost forgotten that little temporary tattoo that was on your wrist.
Changkyun pried your hand off his mouth, narrowing his eyes at you in disappointment. He looked to the four people in your apartment, shooing them with his free hand,
"Get out. You're interrupting our day."
"Roger that, lover boy. Text you later." Jooheon winked, ushering everyone out the door, closing it gently behind him. Only for it to open again, Shownu sliding a somewhat large package on your hardwood floors.
"It was kinda just chilling there." He explained to smooth over any confusion, closing the door again. You both waited a moment before taking a breath of relief.
"You can't just try to kiss me like that in front of our friends." You whined, your cheeks red in embarrassment once more. Changkyun shook his head once again, tilting your chin up to look at him, keeping the eye contact you were trying so hard to avoid.
"Oh, darling, but I can." He teased, strands of his hair falling in his face while he pressed his forehead to yours, smirking madly. Your hands were resting awkwardly on his chest, about ready to push him away but his one arm on your waist was surprisingly strong for a man that had gotten real sleep for the first time in a month.
"We should go open that package." You diverted, trying to look at the package that Shownu had so kindly pushed through but Changkyun's hand on your neck was preventing you from doing so.
"One year and you're still too timid." He tilted his head, shrugging his shoulders,
"Yet I find it cute. It's cute to get you all nervous." He scrunched his nose and fawned over your red cheeks with just his gaze.
"This is why you're Mr. Annoying Hypocrite, you know?" You whine, your bracelet that you'd completely forgotten that you'd had on jingling.
"A name I wear with pride, Eggo." He chided. You were wondering when he was going to lift his forehead away from yours. You sighed after a few more seconds of agonizingly provoking eye contact, giving in.
"You're lucky I missed you."
And you kissed him, pulling away almost as quick as you'd went in.
"Okay, let's open the package." You let out, pushing away from him to no avail. His arm was still around your waist and his hand was still at your neck, his thumb tracing the outlines of the six butterflies on the back of your neck.
"You really love playing hard to get." Changkyun deducted, pressing his lips into a thin line.
"I wonder why. Especially when I already have you."
"I literally hate you." You glared, struggling to escape.
"I love you too."
You huffed, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of saying those words back, rolling your eyes instead.
"You don't have to be so stubborn."
"The same could be said to you." He refuted straight after you. He may be right but you were just as much.
Changkyun shrugged his shoulders again, diving down to press his lips to yours. You didn't fight back like your actions had previously. He smiled against you at that, his thumb soothingly stroking the base of your neck, his arm finally going loose around you. When the moment ended, he curiously smacked his lips together, licking them before asking,
"Strawberry?"
You tilted your head in confusion, finally able to take a step back, thought only a baby one was taken.
"What?"
He pointed to your lips, brushing his finger against them teasingly.
"Your chapstick. I like it. What is it? Strawberry? Raspberry?" He questioned, puzzled. You giggled at that, wrapping your fingers around the top of his black t-shirt, giving him a quick peck before walking away with a smirk.
"Cherry, actually."
You heard the small gasp, making you turn around and drink in his shocked, amused, and unexpected expression. He met your eyes with his own widened, sauntering over to you,
"Eggo, that's-" he shook his head, slapping his own face a few times before settling himself down while you wore your smirk with pride. You threw a wink at him for the extra effect before going over to the package, picking it up and putting it on the mini table you typically sat at. You grabbed the knife you'd forgotten to put back from the counter and sliced the tape off. When he'd finally mustered himself up enough to be at your side, clearing his throat, he asked,
"What's in the box?"
You pulled out a large dark maroon rectangular colored scrapbook, an endless amount of card stock and construction paper, stickers, colorful markers, and a bunch of other miscellaneous stuff that you had splurged on.
"I ordered them before breakfast and same day shipping is a blessing." You exclaimed, pulling him over excitedly before you placed the empty scrapbook down on the table, lacing your fingers through his while your other hand flipped through the empty pages of the large book.
"You said you wanted to make a scrapbook last night. Well, this morning." You reminded, only for him to look at you with a sweet sort of taken aback expression.
"Why did you remember that?" He asked, a small chuckle escaping him while he pawed through all the things you'd bought because he said one thing at the most unholy hours of the day.
"Because you had this look in your eyes when you suggested it. I felt like I needed to give into it. If this is what you want to do, then let's do it."
"This is why I love you." Changkyun beamed, opening the first page, empty and full of possibilities as he looked at you.
"Any idea on how to start? Have you done this before?"
You shook your head. You don't even think you'd touched a scrapbook. No one you'd known had kept them with them. Your parents had like one photo album from when they were younger but that was about it. Scrapbooking was time consuming, and when most of your friends were in the same industry as you, none of them had time to patiently carry out one.
Maybe you two would succeed. You were both awfully determined when it came to stuff you could do together at home, since neither of you liked going out. Or more of, got so comfortable with it that the idea of having a date at a fancy restaurant, like normal people, became uncomfortable.
You grabbed one of the boxes that Changkyun had gifted you, opening it and laying out all the pictures on your small dining table. You sorted through them, picking up the picture of you, him, Jungwoo, and Suhyun.
"We should probably start with the first known picture of us together.
You tugged on the sleeve of his shirt, pointing at him to sit down on the chair, but he pulled over the chair from the other side and sat down in it instead, pulling the other one out for you.
You only had two chairs.
Five if you counted the bar stools, which you honestly used more often than the mini table.
"You're good at this sort of aesthetic art stuff. How do we do this?" You picked up a few of the random pattered card stock you'd bought, waving them at him.
"I'm just as clueless as you are." Changkyun chided, picking up the white marker from your little pile, pulling over one of the black papers and placing it on top of the wide off white page.
His hands went for the scissors, somehow effortlessly cutting the paper into a perfect rectangle, placing it vertically on the middle of the page.
"Maybe a little introduction. So in twenty years time we won't forget what this book is about.'
"Kyun, we're going to be forty. Not eighty." You reminded, knowing that dementia wasn't that common  in people that weren't close to their death bed.
"Twenty one years together. Am I really going to have to be stuck with you for that long." Changkyun joked, nudging you slightly, handing you the glue stick and pointing to the first page, the one on the back of the cover.
"We would've been together longer than my parents." He poked the little fake tattoo on your wrist, shaking his head to nothing. You poked his own, very much real one, bringing a bittersweet grin to your face,
"Longer than mine too."
He grabbed your wrist before you could pull away, giving your hand a squeeze.
"It's fine." You assured, getting up to go grab your phone which you'd left on the counter. Changkyun's, which was right around it started ringing as soon as you'd grabbed your own. You'd taken it upon yourself to take his with you, feeling an impending feeling of doom as soon as you checked it. You turned to the now victim, waving his phone at him from the counter, laughing fearfully as you stride back to him.
"Your manager is calling."
He took his phone from your hand, running a hand through his hair before hiding his face in your arm.
"Ignore it." He mumbled, clutching onto his hiding spot while you leaned yourself against the armrest of the chair.
"I want to be alive for that twenty first anniversary."
You giggled at that, placing the phone down on the table while you ruffled hair raven black hair.
"You have to face the consequences of your actions. Let's hope you don't get fired because I don't think I'll make enough money for your expensive self."
"Might want to push that phone away a bit more." Changkyun suggested, ignoring your previous comment, doing it himself by pushing it until it hit the empty package.
"He yells."
You pressed your hands into a prayer position, looking up above for reassurance before pressing the green button, followed by the speaker button.
You'd never been all that religious but you were relying on the heavens for your safety.
"You!" Leo's unholy screech echoed through the apartment, causing even you to stumble back at how utterly loud and how impressively high the typically bass voiced man was.
"Hi, Leo." Changkyun squeaked into your arm, wrapping his own around it and hugging tightly as if you were a teddy bear. Even Ollie had waddled over to see what all the fuss was about, sitting his fluffy black and white self at the leg of the chair.
"Don't you dare call me by my first name right now. You will not believe the kind of stress I am in right now because of you." He calmed himself down, his voice returning to his typical deep tone, though his words were speeding and both of your fears increasing. There were a lot of scary things in this life. Leo was definitely one of the scariest.
"I was so happy to be back home in LA, and I was so happy that I trusted you to go do whatever the heck you were going to do. I was certain you'd come and board the plane. You'd even texted me to assure. I trusted you, I didn't even come to check on you. And now you're on the other side of the world!" He hollered at the end and you could almost see the light that was reaching out to take you into the great above.
"As soon as I landed in the States, I waited for you at the carousel, thinking that you were just collecting yourself. But as soon as I unlock my phone, I'm bombarded with texts, and calls, and emails from the executives." He pauses,
"I find out that you signed with DI, terminate your previous contract, learn that you're in Seoul, and am told that the chairwoman of the company is your mother? And you know what the best part is?"
Leo takes a deep breath, and both yours hitch. They hitch until Leo exhales deeply, and the grip on your arm tightens before all hell breaks lose.
"They put me on leave of absence!"
At this point you didn't know if you were scared for your life or wondering why Leo had never became a singer because his voice was reaching inhuman levels. He was beating most main vocals right now with his range and Kihyun better watch out.
"I have been with you, heck! I have looked after you since you were eighteen years old. And this is how you pay me back? Changkyun my job!"
"Leo, if we could just calm d-"
"You!" His voice was cutting off at just his loud his voice was. Changkyun finally lifted his face out of your arm, staring at the phone with wide eyes just like you while Leo continued on his rampage.
"You did this to him, you tiny being. He was punctual until you came along and turned him into some lovesick maniac!"
"Leo." Changkyun warned, somehow changing up at the difference in topic. Leo sighed again, and you heard gentle banging from the other side of the line, hoping that your friend wasn't banging his head on the table.
"Okay, I was the one that put you on leave of absence. I can handle myself for the next two weeks. Have fun with your family. Goodbye."
And he pressed the red button.
You slapped his arm.
"Why did you do that?" You pointed to his phone, which now displayed his wallpaper. A picture of you both from the beach. He shook his finger at you, carefully pulling you back down onto the chair and pushing his phone aside.
"Someone else will handle it for me and I already discussed with my uncle. He's mad, yes, but he'll get over it." Changkyun assured, patting your shoulder.
"I have a few more pictures I want to print out. Be right back." He threw you a quick smile before practically leaping into the bedroom, Ollie following behind him like a baby copying a parent. You couldn't help but let out a laugh at that.
When you finally checked your phone, the first message you were greeted with was kind of scary, not in the Leo sort of way, but it was the possibilities.

JUNIEJUNE
I left something outside your door. Your mom told me to pass it on to you when I ran into her. Apparently it slipped her mind to give it to you. ;)

You should probably be worried, knowing your mother but you found yourself already at the door, opening it and easing up when you saw the small black velvet box with the pink sticky note on it. You bent down to pick it up, cupping it in your hands while you made your way to the counter, leaning against it while you read the note.

"Maybe you won't need this now, but I think your dad would've liked it if you passed it on to our son in law when the time is right. I've saved it all these years for this purpose, so hold onto it."

You stared at the box, wondering what could possibly fit in something that small. Your manicured fingers curled over the top of the box, flipping it open only for you to let out a gasp, minding how loud you were so you didn't catch this certain "son in law's" attention.
"No." You whispered to yourself, staring at the silver band in the box. The ring box. You didn't want to touch it, simply admiring it and the way it rested in its velvet case. It was your simple band, not as thick as they'd typically be, but this one just happened to have a rectangular diamond imbedded into the center of it for a fancy touch.
It was your father's wedding band.
You hadn't seen it in years. Of course, his hand wasn't around for you to see it on. You didn't even know your mother had kept it. It was sort of surreal seeing it right in front of you. You'd always loved it so much, so much that your father always joked that it would be yours when you found someone to marry.
Well, you couldn't out right show yourself boyfriend of one year a goddamn wedding ring. You needed somewhere to hide it. Somewhere secure. Some place he wouldn't check. At least some place temporary for now. Your eyes landed on one of the like seven paintings that Changkyun had on the walls. They'd been the same ever since you'd first walked in here, and you couldn't depend on it but you'd assume that they'd never be moved, let alone even touched. You scurried to the largest one, the one right by the entrance. It was kind of just a bunch of monotone colored splotches but it looked nice with the monotone vibe of the house. You'd lifted up the back of it and placed the box snuggly behind it, taking a breath of relief at the fact that it had stayed and the fact that it looked like there was nothing there at all.
That was the best you were going to do for now.
Your mother was crazy.
She could've at least given you a heads up.
When Changkyun and Ollie returned with the pictures, you were already at the table, working on making your little introduction page all pretty. He'd placed the pictures on the table and looked over your shoulder while you'd tediously placed the little red and purple heart stickers around the border of the black paper, drawing little squiggly lines around the perimeter too. He'd kissed your temple, watching you curiously while you'd worked.
"I thought you said you didn't know how to do this." Changkyun chimed, picking up one of the pens and drawing a little flower at one of the corners.
"I don't. I'm trying to make it work, so a little bit of help would be nice."
He chuckled, and you both ended up sitting at that table for hours. Three hours before you both got tired. You'd pasted pictures, wrote captions, bickered over the placement of certain things, drew little doodles for fun, took a picture of you making it so you could put it in later, and you may or may not have drew a mustache on one of his pictures with him somehow not noticing. You'd both strangely put your heart and soul into this little scrapbook, closing it up with the promise to fill it up with more memories when you made them, making sure to never forget.
You tapped his cheek, causing him to look at you. He hummed in confusion while you stared.
"Smile." You cooed, and without putting up an argument, he simply smiled, obeying your wishes. You giggled when you placed the little purple heart sticker into his right dimple.
Changkyun may have been playfully glaring at you but you were laughing at how entertaining it was to see the little heart on his face. In refute, he'd grabbed a yellow one, placing it onto to the top of your nose, scrunching it up at the feeling.
He laughed.
You laughed.
Even Ollie barked while you drank in the moment.
What a day.

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