Our Story

Chapter 19

The closet was half empty when Jinyoung almost finished packing his clothes in his luggage. He was going to stay at his parents' house for a while; he might be there for long, he was not sure.

It had been such a long time since the last time he had stayed at his parents' house for days. This change of environment was needed when he wanted to move on from Mark; this apartment held too many memories.

"Jinyoung," Jackson said, seated on Jinyoung's bed, "I know you want to be away from here for a while and distract yourself. But don't leave me here for too long. I'll be missing you, okay? Come back here as soon as possible. And miss me too while you're there."

"Don't make me cry. I can't anymore," Jinyoung said, laughing instead. "You're my only friend. I'll miss you, of course. Instead of looking sad and just sitting there, why don't you just help me?"

Jinyoung went to the bathroom to take a few things that would be necessary during his stay. He heard Jackson say, "You're nearly finished anyway," which made him smile. The last few days here were tolerable only because of Jackson. His endless words and different ways to comfort Jinyoung, which could be annoying at times but still worked anyway.

"Tell Wendy that I won't be able to third-wheel you two anymore." Jinyoung came out of the bathroom and continued packing other things.

"Hey, it's not like you would never be back here. We can go on double dates in the future when you've found the right one. Speaking of which, don't you want to go on blind dates or something like that? Isn't it a perfect way to move on from someone in the past?"

Jackson might sound convincing and hopeful but those words only made Jinyoung heave a sigh. What he felt for Mark was so deep that he did not think such plans as Jackson had suggested would work. It was going to take him a long time, if not impossible, to forget Mark.

"I'm afraid of being in a relationship again. Maybe, I'll never be ready to fall in love once again."

"Hey, it's too early to say that. You need to move on and open your heart again for someone that's right for you."

Jinyoung stayed silent, not wanting to argue. If he did, Jackson was not going to stop his lecture. It was just easier said than done.

"Done," Jinyoung said, pulling the zip of the luggage close, "Wanna go out for lunch?"

"That shouldn't be a question," Jackson sprinted to his side and led him out of the room.

Jinyoung was a little nervous as he stood in front of the door of his parents' house, which was his home anyway. A little guilty too. It had been such a long while since he had visited them. It had been nearly a year.

He pressed the doorbell and waited until the door was swung open, revealing his mother, who broke into a smile at the sight of him, and his father, right behind her.

"See? I told you it'd be Jinyoung," his mother said to his father, her eyes not leaving Jinyoung, "Come on in. We were expecting you. Why didn't you tell us what time exactly you were coming at? Come in."

Her overflowing energy influenced him and he did the only thing he could think of at the moment. He wrapped his hands around his mother and hugged her tight, which made her laugh.

"Mom."

"Aigoo, you're still like a baby. But you look so strong. We missed you so much."

Jinyoung let go of her, just to turn to his father, who had a fond smile on his lips. Jinyoung threw his hands around his father for a hug. No matter how much he had grown up, he could never match his father's strong, built body.

His mother took the luggage as they moved to the living-room. In his eyes, nothing had changed here. The same old house he was used to. of course, anything specific could not have been changed within a year.

"How're you doing? Anything amiss? Any health problems?"

They had been on the phone often but during these past weeks, they had not talked long. To be honest, Jinyoung had been so distracted these days that he had been ignorant of his parents' health.

"We're all good. But as usual, your father's back aches at times. The doctor told him not to sit too much and to exercise."

"It's nothing to worry about. Have you had dinner? Your mother was just preparing it. Let's fill our stomaches first before we catch up," his father said, leading them to the kitchen.

They had a family dinner, from which warmth was radiated and calmed Jinyoung down. After the dinner, they had a chat in the living-room, Jinyoung talking about the past year in his university and then listening to his parents talking about what changes there had been in the neighbourhood and his old friends. They remembered Jackson and laughed, when Jinyoung recounted some of the weird things about his roommate.

Then his mother followed him to his old room, when he said he wanted to take a rest. The room had already been cleaned and the bed was ready.

"I used the old set," his mother said, referring to the bedding. "Is it okay?"

"Of course, Mom, you know I love this." This set of the printed blue bedclothes, had always been his favourite.

"Jinyoung," his mother said, sitting on the edge of the bed, while he was already making himself comfortable in it. "Is everything okay?"

Jinyoung looked at her and went quiet. He would never be able to lie to her; after all these years, she could still read him like a book. But for now, he would have to lie. The problem was not him being gay; he had come out to them long ago. But they would be upset if they knew what had happened to him and he did not want to remind himself of all those things either when he was trying to forget them.

"Yes, Mom. Everything's okay."

His mother did not look convinced but did not push it further. She just patted him on the shoulder, and said 'good night' before leaving the room. That night, for the first time in a while, Jinyoung fell asleep without too many thoughts.