"Oh Yoohan, I'm talking to you," his elder brother says raising his voice a little and breaking Yoohan's chain of thoughts.
"I'm listening" he replies, still a little out of it. He has been trying his best to focus on work and learn everything fast so that his brother can catch a break. It has already been 6 months since he returned home.
"Time sure does fly" he sighs and gets back to work.
"Also mom wants to introduce you to everyone, now that you have decided to officially join the company. So, she is planning to throw a birthday party for you next week make sure you clear your schedule and I have already spoken to Joohaeng and Minjae so don't even think about using them as an excuse" Younghoon tells his younger brother who is already scowling at him.
"You can't do that to me" Yoohan protests.
"Yes I can and I just did. They will drag you here if they need to" Younghoon tells him and leaves the room.
Yoohan turns to the window once his brother leaves him alone. Seoul is still the same, he thinks to himself but still, it feels so unfamiliar. He stares out the window as if he is longing for something, his eyes following every person that crosses the road. Everyone looks small like an ant from his 10th-floor office window but still, he recognizes most of them as he has been observing them for months now. The old lady who comes to pick up her granddaughter from school at 4 pm every day and the college student who is always running to catch the last bus and the couple that always have the biggest smile on their faces as they walk hand in hand going home from work. All these people have become a part of his life indirectly as he waits for him to return.
" Sunwoo-ya, why am I so stupid?" He whispers, tears rolling down his cheeks.
*Flashback to their first date*
"I can't believe you cried" Sunwoo is teasing Yoohan ever since they got back from the first official date and Sunwoo asked Yoohan to be his boyfriend.
"I can't believe you didn't cry. You are heartless Choi Sunwoo" Yoohan stuffs another cookie in his mouth.
They are in Sunwoo's room. Yoohan is sitting between Sunwoo's legs, his head resting on his boyfriend's chest who is hugging him from behind. Sunwoo chuckles at Yoohan's words. He slowly leans and places a kiss on Yoohan's head.
"Thank you, for holding onto me. I love you" Sunwoo says resting his face on Yoohan's shoulder.
"ARE YOU DOING THIS INTENTIONALLY? YOU KNOW I WILL START CRYING AGAIN IF YOU SAY THIS DON'T YOU?" Yoohan shouts at Sunwoo who just hugs him tighter in response.
It's past midnight and Sunwoo's phone has been buzzing continuously. He finally wakes up to check who it is.
"Hello" he answers the phone still sleepy.
"What took you so long?" Hyemi shouts from the other side. She sounds panicked.
"Why? What's wrong?" he asks confused as he checks the time and it's 2:30 in the morning.
"You need to get back asap, mom is sick," Hyemi says.
"What?" he starts shaking as soon as Hyemi informs him about his mother having a heart attack.
"The doctor said it was a minor one so she is safe for now. The surgery went well but they still need to run some tests on her. She really wants to see you so come back and meet her before your exams start" Hyemi said and before Sunwoo could ask anything else a doctor calls her from behind and she hangs up.
Next Morning
"Didn't sleep well?" Yoohan asks kissing Sunwoo's cheek who is lying in bed eyes wide open. He looks like he cried all night but Yoohan doesn't want to pressure him so even though he wants to ask why he looks so sad he doesn't.
"Yoohan-aah" Sunwoo calls out and then breaks into tears. Yoohan holds him tightly and keeps whispering "It's ok". Once Sunwoo stops crying he tells Yoohan about his mom's condition.
"I will come with you. Should I call mom and tell her to shift your mom to our hospital? We can get her a personal nurse" Yoohan says worry written all over his face but Sunwoo shakes his head.
"I already talked to Hyemi, the doctor said she is fine now. But I just want to go and see her once. And you don't have to come with me. I want you to focus on your studies. I will be back before you know it" Sunwoo reassures him.
"But I don't want you to go alone" Yoohan insists, but it's of no use. The rest of the day passed in a daze for Sunwoo while Yoohan arranged his tickets and other things to make sure Sunwoo doesn't have any problems and can reach the hospital as soon as he lands in Seoul. He also talked to Hyemi and after consultation with his family doctor and mother shifted Sunwoo's mom to their family hospital. He knows Sunwoo would not be happy about it but he can handle that later. What's more important right now is his mother's health, he will definitely understand Yoohan's concern once he sees his mother, Yoohan thought to himself.
The next day Yoohan takes Sunwoo to the airport.
"It is going to be fine. I spoke to mom yesterday and she visited your mom at the hospital. She is much better now and I have asked mom to consult our family doctor. You'll meet my driver at the airport and he will take you directly to the hospital. And I'll go to you as soon as I submit my work here. So don't worry, you both are going to be fine, okay?" Yoohan says holding Sunwoo's hands between his palms. He places a soft kiss on his lips and hugs him tightly. Sunwoo hugs him back both reluctant to let go.
"I love you," Sunwoo says placing a kiss on Yoohan's forehand.
"I love you more Choi Sunwoo. I will be there in a week so hang in there" Yoohan gives him a reassuring smile and with that Sunwoo leaves.
The next day Yoohan wakes up to 30 texts and 50 missed calls from his mom, Hyemi and his elder brother. His heart sinks when he opens the messages,
' Sunwoo's plane was in a crash. I'm coming to pick you up. We'll leave immediately' the latest text from his elder brother read.
Yoohan reads the message, again and again, hoping he was reading it wrong, wishing for the words to change but it remains the same and slowly start to register in his mind when he reads it out loud. Suddenly the doorbell rings, and he runs to the door praying it was Sunwoo at the door. 'He must have missed his flight' he thinks to himself.
" Sunwoo-yaa..." he says opening the door but it's Younghoon at the door. He looks exhausted.
"Yoohan-" he starts but there is nothing he can say to his little brother right now so he stands there quietly and the reality of it all dawns on Yoohan. He falls to his knees and starts sobbing. He is hysterical, shaking and sobbing he begs his elder brother to tell him he was lying and that it was all a disgusting joke they were trying to play on him but he knew those words were never gonna come out of his brother. If there was one thing his brother would never joke about it was death.
*End of Flashback*
There is a knock on Yoohan's door bringing him back to the present. He hurriedly wipes his tear-stained cheeks and clears his throat before answering, "come in".
"Sir, Mrs. Choi is here" his secretary informs him.
"I will right there," he says and gets up from his chair.
" Sunwoo-ya, look I brought mom with me today. I promised you I will take care of everything so why did you have to rush?" Yoohan says choking up as his eyes well up again. They have come to Sunwoo's grave. It's been 2 years since he left this world leaving behind the two people who wanted to protect him and loved him the most. Sunwoo's mother hugs Yoohan and starts crying
"Mom, don't cry for this jerk. Let's have fun every day and travel around the world. Let's make him jealous so that he regrets leaving without us, ok?" Yoohan says trying his best to hold his tears for Sunwoo's mom who is still not well. She nods. He takes her to the car and returns to the grave.
"Hey, Choi Sunwoo, I'm taking care of her so you just rest well and wait for me. I will kill you if you find someone else up there before I arrive," Yoohan says with a smile which doesn't reach his eyes. His pain is too evident that even his smile can't hide it.
"I love you Choi Sunwoo and it will always be you," he kisses the gravestone and walks away.
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And that's a wrap.
First of all I want to apologise for the grammatical mistakes I will fix them soon.
secondly, I want to thank everyone who stayed with me till the end as I finished this story. Thank you so much for loving my story. I love you all. Hope you enjoyed the story and don't hate me too much for the ending.
P.s. I will upload an epilogue soon. And I'm planning to write a story about Minho and Younghoon (Yoohan's brother) if you want to read please tell me in the comments <3