The One He Tried To Forget | 18+ |

20

It has been a month since Jung Kook started going in to work with his cousin again. Started riding in the town car with Jin back at the wheel. At first, it had made him happy to see his ex-boyfriend once more, but after two weeks of Jin reverting to the cold indifferent person that he was when they first saw each other, his irritation returned full force.

The fear was still in Jin whenever he saw Jung Kook waiting with Yoon Gi, but he always took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders as if to loosen the tightness there and brace himself before greeting each men politely. It puzzled Jung Kook, and he was dying to know what secret Jin was keeping now.

Today was Jin's birthday. Jung Kook had seen it on his calendar when he woke up this morning. It had put a smile on his face and a spring in his step as he planned how best to give his present to the birthday boy.

Jung Kook realised that Jin was not a boy anymore -- that they were both grown men now -- but he will always remember Jin as the shy, handsome, bespectacled new student who entered Class 1-4 one day. The boy who made Jung Kook's heart stop as he stood at the front of the room and introduced himself, asking for understanding and help to survive in a new environment. And Jung Kook had taken up that challenge with vim and vigour.

The familiar black town car pulled up to the front entrance of the condominium complex, and Jung Kook strode ahead of his cousin as Jin got out of the driver side with a tall cup of caffè americano and a grande nitro cold brew. Jung Kook waited by the car's back door, a smile on his face, and watched as Jin came towards him. However, the smile vanished quickly, to be replaced with alarm, when Jin began to slip on a patch of ice. It had rained yesterday evening, and when the temperature dropped overnight, the moisture turned to ice that was barely discernible against the asphalt.

"Jin!" Jung Kook immediately put his hands on the front and back of Jin's coat to steady him.

His eyes widened when he felt a hard mass under the soft wool. There was something in Jin's abdomen. His heart began to pound in worry.

What is this? Oh my god! Is this the illness that Hobi spoke of six months ago?! Is it a tumour?! NO! NOT MY JIN!

As the thoughts ran through his head, Jung Kook looked at his ex-boyfriend and saw his fear reflected in Jin's eyes.

Such beautiful brown eyes, that used to look at me with so much love. I miss you, Jinnie. Why haven't you been taking better care of yourself?

"Jin?" Jung Kook whispered, his distress obvious in the hushed word.

"Your drink, Mr Jeon!" Jin all but shoved the cold coffee to Jung Kook as he wriggled free of his hold to step closer to the man behind him. "Yoon Gi, your coffee. Please be careful. It's hot."

"Jin?" Jung Kook called again.

But Jin busied himself with opening the back door and ushering the men inside while tut-tutting.

"We should go. Last night's rain turned the roads into an ice rink so traffic will be slow."

Jung Kook kept his mouth shut for the duration of the ride, his mind spinning with an endless parade of possible diseases that would explain the growth inside Jin. That was the trouble with being in the medical field. You were privy to the vagaries of the human body, and the abnormalities it could fall victim to. And Jung Kook was torturing himself with what he knew.

Please, God. Please don't let it be terminal. Please let it be something that I can treat. I'm a surgeon. I'll do anything I can, I'll give everything I have, just... please, God, don't take him away from me. Not now. Not when I've finally found him.

The rest of the day flew by for Jung Kook. He was so consumed by his discovery that he spent every free minute that he had poring over medical texts and journals on articles about irregular growths and unusual masses. He had no memory of the two procedures that he performed, nor if he took coffee breaks or ate lunch. He was determined to get to the bottom of what could be ailing Jin.

By the time the day ended for both himself and Yoon Gi, Jung Kook was ready to confront Jin and present him with a timetable of how they would tackle Jin's illness together. Yes, together. He was going to tell Jin that he knew who he was, who they had been to each other in their former lives, and that he was back to reclaim their past and plan their future. Together.

But when the town car pulled up to the front entrance of the hospital, it was Hobi who stepped out of the driver's side to open the back door for Jung Kook and Yoon Gi. Jung Kook's heart clenched as he wondered if Jin had taken ill again.

"Hey Hobi. Where's Jin?" Jung Kook heard his cousin ask.

"Ahhh Yoongs, you wound me. I thought you would be happy to see my gorgeous face," Hobi laughed.

Yoon Gi flashed his gummy smile at his friend before punching him in the arm, jokingly.

"I'm always happy to see you, idiot. I was just wondering. That's all."

"Well in that case... Jin went to see his mum with Tae. It's Jinnie's birthday today so they're going to have dinner with his mum," Hobi explained.

The hair on the back of Jung Kook's neck immediately rose angrily at the mention of Mr Sweet's name, and he had to hold back an irate growl. He had forgotten about the man's existence in his ex-boyfriend's life. But then he realised that Hobi said Jin was celebrating his birthday with his mum.

Shit! I forgot to give my birthday gift to Jin!

He wondered if he could ask for Jin's phone number from Hobi. He had finally plucked up courage to ask Yoon Gi two weeks ago but he claimed that the number he had for Jin no longer worked. Jung Kook hoped that Hobi would be willing to give Jin's number unlike his good-for-nothing cousin and perhaps he could also be persuaded to give up Jin's home address as well.

"Hobi," he began, "do you know where Jin lives?"

"I do," the man in the driver's seat smiled at Jung Kook through the rear view mirror as he pulled into traffic.

"Can you tell me where he lives please? I bought him a birthday present and I forgot to give it to him this morning," Jung Kook explained hurriedly when he saw Hobi narrow his eyes at him.

"Oh! You got him a present? I'm surprised that you even know it's his birthday. Jin is not the type to share such personal details," Hobi's face scrunched up in confusion before his lips turned down slightly in regret. "But I'm sorry, Jung Kook, I cannot give you that information. My employees' private lives are their own, and that includes where they live."

Jung Kook's face fell. Though he expected it, Hobi's words still stung.

"If you want, I can take your gift to him tonight. I'm sure he will be happy to know that you remembered his birthday," Hobi said. He could see how disappointed the other man was, and though he couldn't understand why Jung Kook was upset, he wanted to help.

Jung Kook had no choice but to agree as he handed over the beautifully wrapped package to Hobi because he remembered how superstitious Jin was about birthdays -- that you should always celebrate in the days before or on the day of but never after. As he settled back in his seat next to Yoon Gi, he felt his cousin pat his thigh gently but he couldn't bring himself to look at him. He didn't want to see the sympathy on the man's face.