The Aged | Gyuhao (Sequel to Youth)

- 20

| Chapter Twenty — Destination |
| 📍 Seoul, Korea |

They send Jungwon first.

It was all apart of their plan— send them each off one by one to hide any signs of being members of Cerise. It was simple, but a flight and go travel down to Korea as no other than a normal person.

They'd each go one by one, gathering clues all alone and eventually meeting at the last minute to mush all their information together, diving into whenever Minghao was being held captive and having the amazing opportunity of bringing him home.

Sure, it was known that splitting up in a plot like this would be a bad thing, but everyone at Cerise understood, they had a solid plan. It was almost as if they were treating it similar to a regular mission. In and out. Get Minghao, then leave quickly.

That was it.

So yeah, to sum up, they send Jungwon first.

He near the sidewalk of the airport, with a tan coat falling past his shoulders, and a suitcase next to him. He had a small backpack thrown around his backside, and a little matching hat to hide his face the best he could.

He looked cute.

It's only, he doesn't hear that in his head.

"What?" Jungwon widens his eyes, turning to the left in surprise at the sudden voice.

A boy stood there. He was fairly good looking, with a jawline as sharp as a razor blade, and a light smile on his face. He had a dark, denim look going for him at the moment, it suited him well.

"I said you look cute." The guy says.

Jungwon parts his lips but doesn't say a thing.

To be frank, he doesn't know what the hell to say. It was 8:43 in the morning and he was being called cute at this hour, by a stranger nonetheless.

Seokmin's voice rings through his head, 'Don't speak to anyone unless you absolutely have to.'

Jungwon clears his throat, bowing slightly in mannerism, "Um, thank you."

"Too straight forward?"

"Sorry?"

The guy laughs, shaking his head as if to rid of the attempted humor. Jungwon watches how he extends a hand, "I'm Jongseong."

Jungwon scrunches his brows, "Jongseong," He repeats with a small nod.

"Call me Jay, though." Jay sighs with a hiss of his teeth, "I hate formality. Jongseong makes me sound ancient."

Jungwon chuckles, not saying anything further.

Jay pays it no mind, pulling his hand back awkwardly, "Where you headed?"

"Just visiting." Jungwon cuts his responses short. He had to, just in case.

He didn't spot any tattoos along the small bits of exposed skin Jay had along his body, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Jay hums, "Same— Came all the way down from Germany," He says, "My mother's sick. Thought I'd pay her a visit."

Jungwon frowns, "That sucks. Sorry."

Jay shrugs, "It's whatever." He turns his eyes to Jungwon, suddenly seeming so happy again, "I didn't catch your name."

"Because I didn't give it." Jungwon snaps.

Jay snorts, "My bad, then."

Jungwon wants to fall backwards and hit his head on the concrete over and over until he passes out and never wakes up again, "Jungwon."

"Huh?"

"It's Jungwon," He tells Jay again, tightening his grip on his suitcase handle as he watches his Uber pull up.

Jay smiles, "Nice to meet you."

Jungwon just nods as if to agree, knocking on the trunk to let the driver know he needs it. It opens in only a moment. Jungwon can feel Jay's eyes on him as he tosses his bags inside.

Jungwon slams the trunk, popping his knuckles awkwardly as he looks over at Jay, "I, uh—" He chuckles, "I should go." He tells him, trying to politely get past Jay, only to slip on a crack in the curb, tipping right into the man's arms like a disgustingly, cheesy movie and he hates it.

"You okay?" Jay cradles Jungwon's back.

Jungwon clears his throat awkwardly, nodding feverishly and standing upright as fast as he can, "I'm fine. I'm fine," He insists, cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

Jay just laughs softly, Jungwon almost choking as the man nudges his chin with little to no hesitation, "Be careful." He waves, "I'll see you around."

Jungwon watches him walk away with wide eyes and a fallen jaw.

So much just happened over the past 5 minutes it makes him feel like he's losing his mind.

He only snaps back to earth when the driver rolls down her window to ask if he's okay.

"Yeah, sorry." Jungwon swallows, slipping in the car without another thought.

That was weird.