Silent Blue ✦ 2jae (discontinued)

. eighteen .

a/n: aaaaaaand i disappeared for over a month again, lovely 🙃 much longer chapter ahead to make up for my absence lol 💝

●・○・●

"Youngjae, you still want to visit your mom, right?"

"Of course. Why?"

"I have a meeting that I really can't get out of, so I won't be able to drive you."

"Oh..."

"If you still want to, I'll get you a bus ticket there. Is that okay? It's only a two-minute walk."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll let her know."

Just like that, Youngjae was asleep on the bus to the rehabilitation center, earbuds on and unconsciously listening to his travel playlist. He fell silently into the music, not worrying about missing his stop since his was the last on the route. If he was still asleep, the driver would wake him up, and he'd be on his merry way.

He passed out almost immediately after he was settled in his seat with his backpack between his legs. He didn't carry much either; only a water bottle and a book in case he got bored of his phone.

Time sped past Youngjae when he was asleep, and his hat had slid over his eyes when the driver did in fact come back there to wake up the person in the bright green beanie he saw. His eyes still didn't want to open, even though he was being shaken lightly by the driver who was gentler than others. "Last stop, kid."

He slid up his hat and looked at the driver before looking outside, seeing the bus terminal he'd only been inside of a number of times. "Oh! Thank you!" He didn't want to lag the driver anymore, so he hurried to gather his things and walk off. The bathroom was his first stop before the center.

●・○・●

"Good morning, Youngjae!" He tiredly turned his head to the front desk, smiling when he saw the familiar receptionist. "Dad couldn't come this time?" Youngjae shook his head.

"Important meeting, I guess. He'll be here with me next time though," he chuckled. Jeongyeon, the receptionist, nodded and checked him in for his time, giving him a visitor's pass.

"Tell him I say hi for me!"

"Will do!" He nodded and walked back to where his mom's room was, bag loosely hanging from his shoulders. With a quick nock, he walked in to see his mother in a pair of red sweatpants this time.

"Baby, hi!" she exclaimed, in a far better mood than how she sounded on the phone. "Did you get here okay? The bus wasn't too harsh was it?" She checked Youngjae's face cautiously to make sure he wasn't bruised. Of course, she would exaggerate, but she loves him.

"I'm fine, mom," Youngjae chuckled. "You look good," he told her with a sparkle in his eye. "Feel good?"

"Feel good." They laughed and sat down together on her couch and immediately started talking. "As much as I love your father, it's nice to have time with just you, isn't it?" she sighed happily and tucked her legs beneath her.

"It is! We haven't spoken like this for a long time," Youngjae smiled.

"It's been too long, Youngjae," Inhae commented, looking down at her chipped nail polish. "Oh! In my group we're talking about communicating better, and Sanghyuk says I'm doing really well," she beamed.

"I noticed that, too." And Youngjae told her the truth, which was hard to do when she first joined the center. Now, he noticed how innocent but experienced she looked, like she'd finally seen the end to a lifetime of horror, and that relieved him. "You're meeting people here, too, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes! Oh, I've made a lovely friend. Her name is (), I really wish you could meet her sometime, but she's not very open to strangers," she said and raised a hand to her teeth before biting her nail. "I think she'd like to meet you one day, if I told her who you are," she chuckled, and Youngjae did as well. "How about you, hun? Do you still talk with Seungkwan and them?"

"Yes! You know we'll always be friends, mom," he smiled. "I think Soonyoung has a girlfriend now, but he hasn't talked about her much." Inhae chuckled. Knowing Soonyoung since he was young, the thought of him being secretive about a relationship made perfect sense. "Jinyoung is still helping people with music, Seungkwan... Actually, I don't really know what he's up to," he laughed honestly.

"Anyone new?" she asked, wondering how much Youngjae actually socialised in college, of all places.

"Well... the, um—" He cleared his throat. "I've been around."

"Youngjae-yah, don't be so vague," she pouted, and Youngjae chuckled shyly.

"I just... I like someone now," he told her, and she didn't gasp like he thought she would. "He was hard to read at first, but I almost feel like I know everything about him."

Inhae chuckled and held Youngjae's hands. "Just be safe, okay?" He looked back at her, his eyes smiling more than his lips.

"I will, Mom."