After Eric survived his gruelling days in the hospital, he was finally free. He wasn't exactly the healthiest, but he could finally make decisions to stay with Juyeon forever.
[ alternate ending to " New York " ]
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Color Blind 마독스 (Maddox) ●━━━━━━───────
⇆ㅤㅤㅤㅤ◁ㅤㅤ❚❚ㅤㅤ▷ㅤㅤㅤㅤ↻
•••
SEOUL
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Juyeon only managed to video call Eric the morning of the next day, since he had passed out due to tiredness after arriving in Korea. When he checked the dual clock on his phone, it was 7pm in New York City, while it was 8am in Seoul. Juyeon lifted his laptop screen, immediately going to Discord.
"Juyeon, come eat breakfast before you video call Eric," his sibling called out, peeking into his room for a few seconds. Juyeon really didn't want to delay it anymore, but he had to eat, since he hadn't eaten anything proper since he was in New York.
"Coming," he replied, leaving his laptop screen up as he went downstairs. His sister was already setting up the side dishes, leaving him to get the drinks. "Matcha latte?"
"No, there's no milk," Jangyeon replied. "Just get the oolong tea. Please do some shopping when I leave. I'm gonna get Grandma at the hospital when I come back, okay?"
Juyeon nodded, taking the container of oolong tea out the fridge and two glasses. He yawned slightly, putting the container and glasses down and sitting at the table. "I'm really tired, jeez."
"Yeah, your eyes were barely open last night," Jangyeon chuckled, setting the chopsticks down beside Juyeon's plate. "I made kimchi stew last night, so I just warmed it for breakfast."
Juyeon nodded, putting his hands together. "Thank you for the food." He then picked up his chopsticks and began eating quietly, his mind rather empty. He could only think of calling Eric.
"How was New York?" Jangyeon asked, stuffing her mouth with food.
"It was great," Juyeon smiled. "I brought things back - souvenirs and snacks. Eric was right, by the way - the American burger is almost the same as Korean burgers, but I was probably eating at the wrong places. There are less cafes than Korea, and the air is surprisingly cleaner, despite also being a city."
"Was he happy to see you?"
"Obviously." Juyeon smiled mischievously at his older sister. "And guess who got laid?"
"Oh my God-" Jangyeon burst out laughing, but covered her mouth because she was still chewing. "Did you guys really do it? Oh my God! Did he enjoy it? I bet he was disappointed."
"Oh, shut up," Juyeon chuckled, eating of his food. "It was great. We only managed to do it once before he got hospitalised. I honestly was very disappointed, but it was his health."
"Juyeon," Jangyeon cackled, clapping her hands together as she laughed. "I'm definitely telling Grandma that her grandson is no longer a virgin. She's gonna lose it, oh my gosh." Juyeon simply smiled, used to her teasing. "She did great, by the way. The kidney treatment was a success, so she's coming home sooner than expected. I'm gonna have to get more off days, though, because we can't afford a nurse."
"You're already working in the holidays - that's bad," Juyeon frowned, fiddling with his chopsticks. Jangyeon shrugged, stuffing her face again. "Don't get used to being so busy, though."
Jangyeon was quiet for a bit. "You know Granny won't last long, right?" Juyeon didn't reply, his heart suddenly becoming heavy. "I'm sorry you had to grow up so soon, Juyeon. You had a whole life ahead of you. Maybe after this all... you'll be able to make up for lost time."
"It wasn't your fault," Juyeon shook his head, a weak smile on his face. "What happened with our parents and myself was not your fault. What happened with you wasn't your fault either. It couldn't be prevented. They can't control who I love, and part of leaving them behind was accepting responsibility sooner. They couldn't stop you from transitioning either."
"I shouldn't have pushed so much on you," Jangyeon sighed. "I should've just stepped up as your older sister and taken care of things."
"You know I wouldn't let you do that." That made Jangyeon smile. "Relax, noona. Besides, if Granny gives up early, you get the house, I'm sure." Then Juyeon remembered. "Hey... Eric's most likely coming back to Korea, so... I was thinking of moving in together with him."
"Oh, finally," Jangyeon chuckled. "I thought you'd never move out."
"Funny."
Jangyeon stuck out her tongue, earning a laugh from her brother. "I'm serious," she continued. "I'm sure you two will live happily together. You don't have to spend so much money on us anymore if you move out. I mean, ₩120,000 a month on medication alone is a lot."
"It was for Granny's health, so it was fine," Juyeon shrugged. "We got along just fine, didn't we? It's not like we were running dry in finances per month."
"Yeah, since I handled everything other than groceries with my paycheck," Jangyeon hummed, eating of her food. "Anyways, it's fine if you move out. I'm sure I can handle food expenses myself, it's just us two. Hangyul can come over when I'm lonely."
"I know I say this every time, but your boyfriend is very hot," Juyeon commented, downing the last of his food. Jangyeon smiled proudly, knowing that her boyfriend was, in fact, very hot. "I'm done. I'll do the dishes when I'm done talking to Eric. Get to work safe."
Jangyeon hummed in response, since her mouth was filled with food. Juyeon put his chopsticks down and went to his laptop. He messaged Eric, saying he was going to video call him, and he when he got 'read', he started the call.
After some seconds, the call connected and Juyeon smiled brightly, seeing Eric's smiling face. "Baby."
"You're late," Eric pouted. "It's usually 7pm when you call - what happened?"
"Breakfast with noona," Juyeon replied. "Wow. You're actually looking much better than when I left. This video quality does you no justice, but you look great."
"I always look great," Eric scoffed, rolling his eyes playfully. "How did you sleep last night?"
"Like a baby," Juyeon replied with a sigh. "I passed out in the car, actually, so I was really tired. I wanted to adapt to the timezone completely, so I didn't sleep when it was daytime in Korea. By the time I got here, I was so dead tired."
"Don't do that again, it's dangerous," Eric warned. "Anyways, I got told that by the 29th, I'll be out, so I'll be spending New Years at home. Because of that, I organised an appointment with the South Korean Embassy about the renewal of my citizenship, so I'll be out of here soon."
