city lights ༆

XVI

Things didn't go back to normal the next day. If anything Jinhwan avoided Junhoe even more, but this time Junhoe understood why.

It was quite late at night and both Junhoe and Jinhwan had a late night shift together and Junhoe had been waiting for a while for Jinhwan to leave his laptop. Luckily, someone rang Jinhwan so he had to leave the office to answer it.

The moment Jinhwan left Junhoe went over to the older's laptop and stuck a sticky note on the top of it before leaving the office.

A few minutes later Jinhwan came back. He was confused as to where Junhoe went when he entered the office, but he shrugged the thought off and made his way over to his laptop. That's when he noticed the sticky note stuck on it.

Meet me on the rooftop.
I need to talk to you.
If you decide not to come I'll understand. I'll be disappointed for sure, but I'll understand.

- Junhoe.

Jinhwan thought for a moment before pulling the sticky note off of his laptop.

••••••••••

Junhoe was pacing around the rooftop as he waited for Jinhwan to arrive. He breathed out and watched as his warm breath formed a foggy cloud in the cool night air.

As much as it pained him, he finally came to the conclusion that Jinhwan wasn't coming after all. However, he still waited for another few minutes before deciding to leave when Jinhwan didn't appear.

He stopped in his tracks when the door suddenly opened to reveal the one he had been waiting for.

"Jinhwan?" he said as he stared at the older male in shock. "I thought you weren't going to come."

"I almost didn't." Jinhwan answered. Junhoe felt his heart ache when those words left his mouth.

"You wanted to talk?" Jinhwan questioned. The way he spoke made it seem like they were complete strangers. Junhoe hated it.

"Yeah." Junhoe walked over to the edge of the rooftop and leaned against the safety barrier. He looked into the distance, admiring the glistening city lights as he tried to think of how he would say what he wanted to say.

Jinhwan walked over next to him and leaned against the safety barrier. He kept his distance from Junhoe though.

Funny thing is, this moment reminded him a lot of a while back when him and Junhoe stood on the rooftop overlooking Beijing. Things were so much better back then.

"I'm sorry." Junhoe suddenly spoke up, causing Jinhwan to look at him.

"About that night." Junhoe continued. His eyes never leaving the view in front of them. "I remember everything I did and I hate myself so much for doing it."

That sentence made Jinhwan's heart ache. He felt hurt and betrayed by what Junhoe did, but hearing him say he hated himself...

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, I wasn't in my right mind that night, I wasn't aware of my actions. I know that's no excuse and there's nobody else to blame but myself." Junhoe hung his head low when he felt a lump rising in his throat. "I never meant to hurt you. That is the last thing I ever wanted to do, but... I did and I'm so sorry." Junhoe looked into Jinhwan's eyes when he apologized to ensure that the older male knew he was serious.

Jinhwan couldn't find the words to say. Honestly, hearing Junhoe talk like this, it was different compared to the younger's usual flirty, witty personality. He knew his apology was sincere, he just didn't know if he could accept it.

"I can understand if you can't accept my apology. I just- I wanted you to know that my intention was never to make you feel less than you are or anything like that because you're not. You mean so much to me and I don't ever want to lose you."

Junhoe stared to worry when Jinhwan just stood there motionless, not saying anything.

"Junhoe, I-I don't know if I can accept your apology." Jinhwan finally spoke.

Junhoe's heart sank when Jinhwan said that, but like he said, he can understand why. Despite how much it hurt, he just nodded and slipped is hands off of the safety barrier and turned to walk away.

But he didn't expect what happened next.

He felt a hand wrap around his causing him to stop. He looked back to see Jinhwan looking down at their intertwined hands.

"Just because I said I didn't know if I could accept your apology right now doesn't mean I never will." Jinhwan said, meeting Junhoe's gaze. A slight smile appearing on his lips and it wasn't a forced smile. It was a genuine smile.

Finally seeing that smile which he always adored so much after so long made Junhoe smile too.

••••••••••

two chapters again lol. I get bored really easily so you can expect two chapters to be posted at random times 😂 love youu ❤