"weddings are planned, falling for you was not." han hoyeol x ahn junho

one

After they were discharged, Jun-ho heard less and less of his so-called friend. He could understand that he worked a job, but why couldn't that bastard Han Ho-yeol take the time to answer a call or to at least give a response to a pathetic-sounding text?

It had gotten so bad that Jun-ho would even have accepted a half-hearted text. But he took it quietly, took care of his mother and sister with a part-time job at a tattoo parlor, and didn't bother to complain about his situation.

Why did he care so much anyway?

Sure, Ho-yeol used to blow up his phone every day, and call him nonstop to tell him about nonsense things like how much he loved choco pies, or a new drama that he had ended up taking a special liking to.

But he was a grown man with an actual life, unlike Jun-ho who couldn't even land a job in a normal place, like a convenience store or coffee shop.

Meanwhile, Ho-yeol had started his own business. A wedding planning business.

His phone rang off the hook, his messages were completely full..and he didn't have the time to set up a second, more personal phone number.

He knew that he was unintentionally avoiding Ahn Jun-ho, but he couldn't face him, because by the time he saw Jun-ho's messages, it was days later, sometimes even as far as a week.

A couple of times, Jun-ho contemplated going to Ho-yeol's apartment. He never even got as far as the corner near his house before he turned on his heel and walked in the opposite direction.

If Ho-yeol didn't want to talk to him, he could just say so.

Both men were aware of the other, always on the brink of pressing the call button, but they never quite got the courage.

Until the 22nd of June.

It was a warm, humid but breezy June afternoon when he got the call that made him freeze like he was a sculpture made of ice.

His ringtone had sounded softly as he set his sister's drink down beside her. "Get that, I hate your ringtone." Su-jin said in an annoying tone.

He'd just swatted at her and answered his phone, not looking at the contact name. "Hello?"

"Hey, babe. Been a long time." Han Ho-yeol.

Meanwhile, Jun-ho nearly dropped his phone at the sound of Ho-yeol's voice.

"Ahn Jun-ho, sir." He automatically slipped into his military respect.

"Hey. Don't do that anymore. We're not D.P officers now. We're just a couple of friends, having a casual talk, yeah?" A small chuckled followed his words, breathy and gentle.

"Right. Sorry." Jun-ho leaned back, trying to relax the stiffness in his tone.

"It's alright. Listen..I haven't been ignoring you on purpose. I swear to God I haven't. I recently started a business. I plan weddings now, and my phone has been blowing up with customers and..well, I've been accidentally ignoring you." Ho-yeol said it all in one breath, and Jun-ho was still processing.

The silence was practically killing Ho-yeol, and after a minute or two, he decided it was time to see if Jun-ho was still on the line.

"Jun-ho. Hello?" Ho-yeol kept his voice calm. "I understand if you're mad. You've got every right to be, since I haven't talked to you properly in months, but-"

"I'm not mad. I'm just happy to..hear your voice." Jun-ho finally managed to get out.

"Oh- well..good, then." Ho-yeol was struggling to speak normally as his heart attempted to crawl out of his throat and fly to Jun-ho.