They decided to send Jeno to a prestigious addiction center in a tiny country above the winter land.
It made it hard for them all to visit, and the cost was mind-blowingly expensive, but they all agreed it was necessary to help him.
Money was of no issue to them, but Jeno still felt guilty for using so much of Nari's savings.
"It's alright, Jeno," she said gently.
They stood apart from the others, she being the last one to say goodbye to him before his flight.
"Just get better, alright?" She hesitated and something flickers in her eyes before she simply shakes her head and instead grasps his hand between two of hers.
"Come back soon," she whispers, smiling.
He simply nods at her and the barest flicker of a smile crosses his face. "Thank you," he awkwardly says. "For everything you've done for me."
"Don't be silly," she says, laughing. "That's what friends are for, right?"
But there is just the barest trace of bittersweet in her laugh and he feels an unfamiliar pang in his chest and he opens his mouth. To say what, he doesn't know–
"Now boarding Flight 459 in Terminal 2," the loudspeaker announces.
"Time to go." Nari cheerfully shoves him towards the gate. "Go on, fool, before you miss your flight."
Renjun and the few acquaintances Yeseul, Donghyuck, Saeron, and Mark, step up and shake his hand or clap him in the shoulder once again, wishing him good luck.
Jeno looks into their faces and, for the first time, feels thankful for these people. He fingers the bracelet-mister lee's last gift- around his wrist, feeling the conflict of emotions over the actions he should do with everyone watching.
Instead, he gruffly tells them they're embarrassing him and they grin and move back to make way for him and he's about to drag his duffel bag away and he takes two steps before he stops and turns, with something in him that prompts him to unwind the bracelet from his neck and locking it over Nari.
"Keep it safe for me, yeah?" He nods and turns and walks away without another backwards glance.
They watch him disappear through the gate and then, forty minutes later, watch the plane surge into the clear blue sky.
Nari grasps the bracelet around her wrist and she thinks she could still feel Jeno's warmth soaking into her, warming her cheeks, and she watches the plane until it was no more than a dot in the sky.
"Bye, Jeno," she whispers to herself before she allows herself to be led away by Saeron.
💞
It takes 10 months for Jeno to return.
As soon as he steps into the Arrivals Hall, his friends immediately swarm him, asking about his stay in the new country.
They note with approval that he seems more relaxed, more open. There is an air of confidence around him that speaks not of a bad boy visage, but of someone at ease with himself and the world around him.
