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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세레나데 (Sérénade) 준 (June) ●━━━━━━───────
⇆ㅤㅤㅤㅤ◁ㅤㅤ❚❚ㅤㅤ▷ㅤㅤㅤㅤ↻
•••
NEW YORK
•
"Are you doing good, Eric?"
Eric nodded, watching as Amanda and Dylan walked into the room. Amanda ruffled his hair immediately and sat down on the chair beside the bed. "I hope so. I leave tomorrow again, and Dylan will be with you to sort out his citizenship for Canada and your citizenship for South Korea. Are you excited?"
"Yeah — pretty excited," Eric grinned brightly. "I'm also allowed to walk around now, even if they advise against walking around. They want me to get some type of exercise too, so they don't mind it."
"Well, that's good," Dylan smiled, crossing his arms. "Sucks that you won't be able to attend my wedding. Really would have wanted you there."
"And watch you two be mushy? Ew," Eric grimaced jokingly, laughing when Dylan sent him a false glare. "I'm kidding. I want to review the wedding pics first, though."
"At least you'll be with your boyfriend," Dylan smiled. "I'm happy you've made this decision for yourself. I'm sure you'll be happy in Korea with him."
"I doubt we'll be able to express ourselves freely, though, since it is a conservative country," Eric sighed. "Did you bring snacks?"
"We couldn't bring much, because the doctor wouldn't let us," Dylan said, "so most of these are ours, sorry."
"Have you spoken to Juyeon yet?" Amanda asked, opening Dylan's backpack and taking something out for Eric. "It's been more than a day since he left."
"We spoke last night," Eric replied, opening the bag of chips. "I'm waiting for him to call me around now."
"You guys are gonna live together forever, I hope," Dylan grinned. "You two are like two peas in a pod. You guys are perfect together, and I can see how happy he makes you, despite not really being in close physical contact for two years. You two are strong, and I admire that."
Eric looked at his laptop, and a warm feeling filled his heart. His lifestyle would have to change again, and he didn't mind — as long as he had Juyeon by his side.
•
SEOUL
•
"Will this one really be big enough?"
Juyeon looked around the apartment in thought — it definitely was spacious enough for both himself and Eric to live in together. "The location is good — the hospital is 4 blocks down, we're 17 floors up so it isn't too noisy, and we're close to cafes and restaurants."
"It's perfect in that way, but is it big enough?" Jangyeon asked, looking around the room. "Oh my God, this view is phenomenal. Look."
Juyeon walked to the large window on one side of the wall and looked out, seeing the view of the city he so loves. Seoul City. The city that Eric will hopefully grow to love again. While the fine dust did interrupt his view slightly, he was still in love with this city.
"Yeah." Juyeon smiled softly. "Eric will love this one. I know he will."
Juyeon and Jangyeon were silent as they stared out the city. Juyeon was in lovesick silence, while his older sibling seemed rather thoughtful. "Juyeon, I think I'm going to end things with Hangyul."
Juyeon immediately frowned, turning to his sibling with a frown. "What? Why? You two are so in love, though."
Jangyeon was quiet. "How will he react when he finds out?"
Juyeon was quiet for a moment before looking out again. "Right. That. Does he have an idea of it? I mean, having been together for almost 7 months meant that he got you in bed before, right?"
"I avoided it," Jangyeon replied with a sigh. "But even so, he came out to me as pansexual when we started dating, so he couldn't be too bothered. It's not obvious, right?"
"You worked so hard on perfecting it, so of course it isn't," Juyeon nodded. "It's not that big of a deal. I mean… here it is, for obvious reasons. But…"
"He might feel lied to," Jangyeon sighed. "I'm afraid, Juyeon. Might as well end things. I don't want to hurt him with a lie."
"Well, tell him." Jangyeon looked at her younger brother and sighed. "I trust you, noona. Trust yourself too. It'll be okay. I'm here for you." Jangyeon smiled softly. "I remember when I was, like, 6 years old, and I'd call you 'hyung'. You'd make me call you 'noona', but correct me when we were around Mom and Dad."
"Mom and Dad were conservative assholes," Jangyeon sighed. "The transition was so difficult when they looked down on me so harshly. I didn't feel like a boy. I wasn't a boy. I was a girl. And now that I am one, I can see why it's so difficult for a transgender to live in this world."
Juyeon smiled brightly and brought her to his side. "Regardless, you're my sister. If you're not a brother, that's fine. I've always supported you, noona. If Hangyul doesn't support you, I'll still be here as your little brother."
Jangyeon laughed a bit, punching her brother in his side. "Yeah, yeah. Sucks that along with the oestrogen shots, I loss some muscle mass. I would've really beat you up right now." She pushed her hair behind her ear and sighed. "Thanks, Juyeon. You were always there, and I love you for that."
"Aw, I love you too." Juyeon hugged her tightly, making sure that he held her as warmly as possible. Overcoming gender stereotypes was difficult for Jangyeon, and their parents were against it greatly. With Juyeon escaping to live with his grandmother, Jangyeon did the same and they managed to leave their parents together. Jangyeon left her old name behind and was open to a select few as a transgender woman.
Juyeon would always love his sibling, no matter her gender. If Jangyeon felt like a woman, then that was fine. He would never have a problem with his sister, and would never disrespect her by using her deadname.
"Eric is so lucky to have you…"
Juyeon smiled. "And Hangyul is lucky to have you."
