Late | k.ys

3

Seonghwa led Yeosang to a glossy black limousine. He opened the door to the high school student, beckoning him in. Yeosang sat rather uncomfortably on the plush brown seats, with his dusty gray backpack and worn down sneakers. Seonghwa entered the driver's seat without a word and the car began moving forwards.

"Good afternoon, Yeosang."

"Ah!" Yeosang flinched, nearly knocking down a glass of water that stood on the table right next to his elbow. He frowned at it, confused as to how it got there, and turned to the mysterious voice that nearly gave him a heart attack.

Yeosang instantly recognized Jeonghan, even though he looked a lot different from last year. His blonde hair no longer brushed his shoulders, but was now cut short and dyed chocolate brown. To Yeosang's surprise, he was wearing casual clothes this time; a calming blue shirt and dusty jeans ripped around the knees. Its contrast from the lush limousine they sat in eased him slightly, for reasons he didn't know.

"You didn't see me when you entered the car?" Jeonghan raised his eyebrows.

"Um, no, I didn't. I must've spaced out." He glanced at Jeonghan's get-up. "So... what's the occasion?"

"Well, I'm bringing you to my house," Jeonghan shrugs. "I thought that if I wore a suit of sorts you'll feel nervous." He eyed Yeosang's tense figure. "I guess my tactic isn't really working, is it?"

"No, it's not that," he denied quickly, shaking his head and forcing his shoulders to relax. Yeosang scratched the back of his head. "It's just... why do you want to meet me?"

Jeonghan angled his head a little to the right. "You were Hyesoo's boyfriend, weren't you?"

Yeosang found himself blushing. He's so blunt. "Uh... n-not exactly. Why?"

Jeonghan raised an eyebrow. "You both did like each other though, right?"

Yeosang was transforming into a tomato with a human body. What is this invasion of privacy? "U-um... I guess...?"

Jeonghan nodded, looking satisfied with that answer. "That's the reason I asked you to come," he stated, as if that answered everything Yeosang needed to know.

Yeosang was too nervous to ask Jeonghan for details, so he decided to stare out at the scenery outside the window while fiddling with the tip of his school blazer. Jeonghan's phone started ringing not even halfway through the ride, so Yeosang spent the entire time in the limousine watching the scenery, listen to Jeonghan talk about business on the phone, and drinking water from the glass beside him. Strangely, every time he took a sip from the glass, it seemed to refill itself to the brim all over again. Convinced that he was delusional because of his nervousness, Yeosang dismissed the matter completely.

Soon enough, the limousine's engine came to a pause. Yeosang heard Seonghwa leave the car and open the limousine door for them. Yeosang stepped out first, but almost lost his footing when his eyes landed on the giant mansion in front of him.

"Alright, I'll ask him tomorrow... I'll talk to you later, I need to do something... yeah, thanks." Jeonghan stepped out of the car, his hair dancing upright on his head as a gust of wind blew past them. Yeosang closed his gaping mouth and followed Jeonghan into the huge house, fascinated by every little corner of the building.

"Um... Mr Yoon?" Yeosang called out meekly. "M-may I ask why—"

Jeonghan started laughing, making Yeosang's shoulders jump in fright. "Just call me Jeonghan, Yeosang. I'm not that much older than you."

Yeosang squeezed the straps of his bag tighter as he passed by marble walls and floors adorned in old paintings and Victorian antiques. The place was almost as grand as Buckingham Palace. Jeonghan led Yeosang to two large brown oak doors with gleaming golden handles. Seonghwa, who had been following them this entire time, stepped forward and opened the doors for them. Yeosang stepped into a foreign room filled with plushy armchairs, a table full of delicacies, and people he did not know—wait.