It's Always Been You

Chapter 3: A Change

Han Yu woke up without that familiar warmth next by his side. He searched for that warmth as he patted the area next to him but there was nothing.

He slowly opened his eyes and what greeted him was an empty space.

‘Where is he?’

He stood up in a daze, he was about to head out the door and look for that person but he remembered that Victor should have slept on the guest room last night.

‘Right. Divorce.’

He must have been so tired yesterday that he was still in a daze until today. He slowly got up and head to take a shower.

As he went in the bathroom, he couldn't help but feel as if something was amiss yet he couldn't point out what exactly was missing. So, he dismissed this thought and continued taking a bath.

As he was getting dressed, he habitually looked up at himself in the mirror and felt as if the tie does not match with his suit.

“Victor, can you get me that navy blue tie from Dellios, this one doesn't match,” he said as he took off the black tie he was wearing right now. Hearing no response, he couldn't help but call once again.

“Victor?”

A slight frown etched on his face as he walked towards the master bedroom, “Victor, I —”

— it was empty. There were no shadows of Victor inside the large master bedroom.

A faint gloom flashed before his eyes as a stifled feeling rose from deep within his chest. He vaguely felt as if he seemed to have lost something he could  no longer grasp.

He shook his head as he dispelled that thought and abandoned the idea of wearing a tie and just changed into a casual suit instead.

He looked at his appearance once more on the mirror and felt that he was quite satisfied with it. He stared onto his reflection and something seemed to be missing.

There's no person behind his back who would always praise and check how he looked.

‘There's that feeling again.’

He felt his chest tighten once again. He must have been too overworked these days.

Walking down the stairs, it felt as if everything was silent and only the sound of his footsteps climbing down the stairs reverberated in the hall.

He paid it no mind as he proceeded to go towards the kitchen. Beside the kitchen aisle was a separate tiny table for two placed snuggly on the side.

Han Yu sat on the chair and habitually picked up the newspaper on the side to read the local news. Only that, this time he found that this newspaper seemed to be yesterday's publication.

“Victor, didn't todays newspaper arrived?” he said as he folded the newspaper and set it aside. He raised his head to look onto the kitchen area as he waited for an answer, then found that the kitchen was empty.

He also found out that there was no steaming cup of coffee on the table and that the surrounding area was eerily quiet — there were no sounds of someone cooking and humming a song.

Victor was not there.

‘Where is he?’

Feeling that something was not right, he hurriedly sat up and went towards Victor's room. The door was closed as he got there and there were no sounds coming from the inside.

‘Was he still asleep?’

He gently knocked on the door and called for Victor's name. Hearing no response, he pushed the door open which he found was not even locked.

“Victor, are you —”

The rest of his words were swallowed as he stood rooted on the spot. He stared at the room in front of him. This was clearly Victor's room but no traces of him could be found.

The bed was neatly arranged. The duvet was folded neatly, the carpet was spotless while the curtains generously covered the windows, avoiding the sunlight from seeping through. The table on the side was barren, with only a small vase placed on top of it. The room was dim in lighting, making it look cold and empty.

And most importantly, there was no Victor Chase inside the room.

Han Yu's gaze deepened as he looked at the empty room. A faint feeling of loss lingered in his subconscious.

He opened the small cabinet inside the room and found out that it was empty. It was devoid of clothes or any articles.

This time, Han Yu finally realized that the man he was searching for was gone.

Victor was already gone.

***

— click!

Victor closed the door as he entered the hotel's room and carried his luggage from outside.

He just arrived at Klein City after two hours of flight. He was quite tired as his head was now throbbing and he felt slightly dizzy. The divorce really took a great toll on him.

He set his luggage aside and decided to have a quick shower before taking a rest.

Looking at the bathroom's mirror, he could see his haggard appearance. A man with slightly messy hair and reddened eyes was reflected onto it.

The man was quite handsome. He looked clean and delicate. If one would not know, he could be mistaken as an Omega with his appearance alone. It's a pity that he was not.

‘Will he be okay? He would surely live fine without me, right?’

He left in a hurry as he was afraid he would beg Han Yu to let him stay once they met again. He knew it was not right and so, he told himself to learn to be contented with what he had and left.

But despite being in a hurry, he still had the chance to tidy all his things in the house and pack them for disposal. He made sure to erase his presence as much as possible. He did not want to bother Han Yu with himself and so he took the liberty on disposing all of his things. Except for a few clothes, important documents, his money and a newly bought phone — everything was discarded.

Almost all the things that Han Yu gave him were left in a box beside the storage room. Even the ID card and credit card that Han Yu gave him five years ago were left in that house.

For despite hoping for the impossible, he also knew that someday sooner they would separate and so he already prepared everything beforehand, including a new ID card and credit card he could use after divorce.

The silver necklace that the man gave him when they signed the contract five years ago was also left at that house. They never had a wedding ring, instead the man gave him a necklace. And now that the agreement was done, the necklace should be given back to its rightful owner.

What was left on him was a single paper crane that the man folded for him on one summer day. He treasured that small piece of paper a lot as it was now carefully placed inside his luggage.

After taking an hour on the bathroom just staring dazedly on the wall and shedding some tears, he finally decided to take a rest. He did not even bother to blowdry his hair as he laid down on the bed and slept.

He thought it would take him a long time to sleep but it only took him minutes. He was so tired with all the things he'd been through.

The last thing he thought of before falling asleep was Han Yu. Did he already had breakfast? Was he on his way to work?

And how should he live now without Han Yu?

With that, he slept. Slowly accepting that from this day forward, everything shall change.

_________

Author's Note:

@the_idle: quite short.