𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐨 𝐌𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 || 𝐉𝐢𝐇𝐲𝐮𝐜𝐤

8

December 2014

"You should take a break," Mark tells him while both of them are hanging out in the hotel waiting room after the first fan sign event for that day. Donghyuck is scheduled to do two today, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. There are a hundred attendees per time slot. Donghyuck didn’t anticipate a lot of people would show up even though they technically gave away the passes in some of the book stores. It’s been a month since the release and Mark says Donghyuck is doing well for a newbie author. It helped that they kept on posting his face on their social media accounts to market the book. 

"I am not yet hungry." 

"Next batch will arrive in an hour. We can grab something first while we wait. Do not push yourself too much." Mark frowns. 

Although he is not known to be very friendly towards strangers, Donghyuck is quite eager to entertain his readers. He is thankful that he is getting more good reviews than bad ones. He owes it to them that one of his dreams became a reality.

"I am just going to call Jeno." Donghyuck excuses himself for a minute. Before Donghyuck can even talk to Jeno to tell him that they should meet later for dinner, Mark taps his back and mouths that he has to introduce him to someone. He quickly says goodbye to his friend and promises to call him later.

Mark explains that it’s a friend of a friend that became a fan of his after reading his book. “Jaemin is bugging me since last week to introduce him to you.” 

Donghyuck doesn’t mind. He likes meeting his readers and talking to them about the book, what they liked about it, what do they think about Haechan and Andy, or if they think Haechan is a dumbass. 

Mark’s friend is waiting in the hallway that connects the waiting room and the function hall where the fan signing is held. From afar, Donghyuck can see that he is taller than him. He is wearing slim-fit pants and a black blazer. While waiting, the man is facing the other way while he talks on his phone, only his broad back visible to Donghyuck. Donghyuck couldn’t believe that someone a little bit older, not a teenager or someone in their twenties, would still be interested in reading his book.

As they walked closer, Donghyuck can clearly hear his voice, and surprisingly, he sounds familiar but Donghyuck can’t remember where or when he had heard it.

"Hey, man! How are you?" Mark greets, tapping his shoulder. The man immediately turns around upon sensing contact and Donghyuck almost swallows his tongue when he sees his face. 

"Hi, Donghyuck." He smiles, still the same bright smile from fifteen years ago. He still has the same crooked teeth that Donghyuck still finds adorable.

“Jisung?” Donghyuck utters in awe. He still couldn’t believe that he is here standing in front of him after all those years. He never thought they would still see each other again, that Jisung would really come and find him once he releases his book. Donghyuck thought it was just an empty promise. 

“Long time no see!”

“You guys know each other?” Mark butts in. 

“Yeah.” Jisung answers but not looking at Mark. He fixes his gaze at Donghyuck. It’s nerve-wracking. “From a long time ago.”