*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: chapter twenty nine
You were more upset than you expected to be leaving Hyunjin's family in America and travelling back to South Korea. In only two days you'd watched Hyunjin bond with his family, a new side of him revealing itself. It was as though the walls he'd built up around the family aspect of his life had been broken down, and you couldn't be happier for him.
Not only was Hyunjin your boyfriend, but he was also your friend - a friend you'd watched go through a really difficult time whilst his parents divorced, and his mum moved away. You were thrilled your boyfriend was rekindling his relationship with his mum and her family, but you were also overjoyed that nineteen-year-old Hyunjin was getting the closure he had wanted for years.
It was safe to say tears were shed when you and Hyunjin said your goodbyes at the airport when you parted, Hyunjin's mum, her boyfriend, Ellie and George coming to the airport to see you off. Even you were crying, the whole atmosphere setting you off. Hyunjin had promised he'd get them over to South Korea whenever it was feasible, and you knew he'd keep that promise.
He didn't stop talking about them the whole plane ride home, his fear of flying pushed to the back of his mind as he squeezed your hand, reminiscing on the short trip. You sat, listening intently at every word he had to say, beaming from ear to ear. You both eventually drifted off to sleep, cutting the time of the journey in half and found yourselves back in Seoul in no time at all. Hyunjin had driven you both back to the apartment, tapping to the music of the playlist you had made for him all that time ago.
It was so endearing to you, how your relationship with Hyunjin had changed so dramatically this year. Love was not something you had planned for yourself, especially over the exam period of the year, yet you couldn't help falling for your friend. It made looking back on all your happy memories as friends so special, knowing how things had turned out between you both.
At one point during your drive home, a song came on that had been playing when you drove to your first proper date, and you couldn't help but get emotional at how thankful you were that Hyunjin reciprocated the feelings you felt for him. He'd noticed, because he'd become extremely observant over you recently, and he just laughed at you, ruffling your hair under his hand.
You got back to your shared apartment, it was late afternoon, so your plan was to sleep for the foreseeable and get rid of your jet lag before you had to start working at the restaurant again. You'd been pondering Hyunjin's suggestion of working for the company, and the more you thought about it you realised how great of an opportunity it would be for you. You'd spoke to him about it a lot, voicing your concerns; that part of you didn't want to take the job opportunity because of your ego, how you didn't want to be seen as just mooching off of your millionaire boyfriend.
He'd explained that he'd never offer you a job if he didn't actually want you to work for him, and that if he thought you were mooching off of his money that he'd break up with you asap. You'd swatted at him as he'd laughed at you, of course. Then, he reminded you how despite not even needing a job whilst you were in a relationship with him, him being financially stable enough to take care of the both of you easily, you still worked for Minho's restaurant, got your degree and had the aspiration of acquiring a job.
That kind of put it into perspective for you. Setting your ego aside, it would make sense for you to work for Hyunjin and Chan's company. One, a lot of your friends already worked there, and you would never, ever say they had 'mooched' off of the two wealthy men in any shape or form. Secondly, you had helped set the company up in the first place, so actually being able to work for it would make you feel like you'd earned your position. Thirdly, you would get to see Hyunjin a lot more, at that was a bonus under any circumstance.
You planned to tell him tonight that if he still wanted to offer you the position, you'd like to have an interview for it. It only felt right, but you knew he would be ecstatic regardless.
Your plans of sleeping off your jet lag were interrupted, though, when you got off of the elevator to the apartment and heard music and noise. You and Hyunjin just shared a look, slowly wheeling your suitcases forward and unlocking the door. It wasn't surprising at all to see your friends in your apartment, a 'welcome home' banner hung up as they all turned to face you when you walked in.
"Hey! Look what the cat dragged in," Minho shouts, smiling warmly at you and Hyunjin. Seungmin gives you both a wave as the guys start coming closer and welcoming you home, hugging the two of you.
"God, you'd think we were gone for a month," you comment cheekily, making fun of your overdramatic friends. You knew this was just an excuse to have a party at Hyunjin and your fancy penthouse apartment, disguised as a welcome home, and a way to get out their homes on a Monday evening, but you indulged them all the same.
"Hey hey hey," Felix interjects, coming over to you to give you a squeeze. "We even made you both a cake! Don't act like you don't love us."
"If it's got salt in it like last time, count me out," you comment, which you see Hyunjin raise an eyebrow at, reminding you he'd no idea what you were talking about. You shook your head with a laugh, taking off your jacket and kicking off your shoes. You kiss Hyunjin on the cheek when he picks up your suitcase to take it through to your bedroom.
"Chan, I gave you keys to the apartment for emergencies only, dick face. I think I specifically said, 'do not use them at your leisure," Hyunjin points out as he walks towards you room, eyebrow raised. Chan simply walks over to your side, throwing an arm round your shoulders.
"Cry me a river, come and eat cake," he grins, which makes you chuckle as you shake your head.
True to their word, the cake was delicious, and as much as you hated to admit it, you were grateful to see your friends familiar faces after the trip. They were your sense of comfort, and after so much excitement it was nice to unwind in your apartment with your boyfriend and friends.
"So, how was it," you hear Felix ask Hyunjin when he returns, and you watch as he grins brightly, jumping into an animated story of your weekend. You shake your head fondly, smiling at him as he talks, until someone waves a hand in your face.
"Hello?" Jeongin chuckles, moving his hand to your shoulder to give you a shake. "I have something exciting to tell you."
You tilt your head at him in anticipation, moving to sit on the edge of your sofa. He smiles at you.
"I may or may not have met someone," he starts, and you can't help but squeal, your eyes widening as you interrupt him.
"You're kidding! Who are they?"
Jeongin laughs at your reaction, a blush forming on his face.
"I met her when I was leaving work - funny story actually, she crashed her car into mine," he explains, and you can't help to laugh. Trust Jeongin to hit on the girl who crashes her car into his. "She was super apologetic and funny, and I said it was alright because there was hardly a scratch on my car but she gave me her insurance. Anyway, I told her she could make it up to me by buying me a drink and we went out Saturday night."
Your heart feels so full. All you've wanted is for your friend to be happy and find someone he likes, and you know how shy he is about dating, so it's a start. You know he must like her if he's telling you about her, because despite the two of you talking about literally everything together, he's always super private about his love life.
"That's amazing," you coo, nudging his arm. "I'm so pleased for you! Are you going to see her again?"
"Yeah, Saturday night," he chuckles, and you make a swooning action which he rolls his eyes at. "Don't go all soppy on me now."
"I can't help it!" You defend yourself. "My babies all grown up! God, I leave the country for all but three days and you've gone and got yourself a girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend," he points out, but you pay it no mind. You smile at him, trying not to get emotional, because as you look at him and all your friends you realise how much you've all grown up. Jeongin's seeing someone, Chan has a girlfriend, you and Hyunjin are together - damnit, Changbin's getting married! It's insane to remember your rag tag group of friends as you were at eighteen years old.
After a couple hours, Minho interrupts the conversations. "Can't stay for long," he says, standing up using his hands to push off his thighs. "Work early tomorrow, which you also have."
He points at you with a smirk since you'll be working at the restaurant tomorrow, so you salute back at him, muttering a, 'yes captain.' He and Jisung peel off then, offering Felix a ride home which he gladly accepts. Seungmin and Jeongin leave soon after, you ruffling Jeongin's hair which he swats at you for, followed by Changbin and Chan who are also car sharing. Soon it's just you and Hyunjin, listening to music and cleaning up after your messy friends.
Once the apartment is somewhat clean, you both flop down onto the couch together, utterly drained from your weekend. You don't say anything to each other for a while, you just bask in each others presence as you lean into Hyunjin's embrace and let him play with your hair. He hums to the music as he does so, and you swear you could stay like this with him forever.
"What are you thinking about?" He asks, a habit you've noticed he does often. You've realised he likes to know what's going on in your head, especially when you seem to be in your own thoughts.
You sigh, contempt. "I'm thinking about how happy I am," you say honestly. "I'm also thinking about what it would be like to work with you."
You feel him still at your words, manoeuvring you so that he can look you in the eyes and asses your facial features.
"Are you serious?"
"Deadly," you reply with a smile. "I've been thinking over it for a while, and I honestly don't see the harm in having an interview."
Hyunjin rolls his eyes, smiling. "You don't need an interview, dummy, I'd hire you no questions asked."
"I know, but it's only fair I get an interview. I don't want the people I work with to think I didn't do anything to earn my position."
Hyunjin looks at you with a dead expression, tilting his head. "You literally helped build the company from the ground up, I think you've earned it already."
You push him lightly for his sarcasm, narrowing your eyes. "I won't even consider the job if you don't interview me, with the person who's in charge of your legal team."
He puts his hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay, you win. I'll get Haewon to interview you - she's head of legal, though you've met her a couple of times and she already likes you."
You smile knowing that, since you were honestly worried about not fitting in to the legal team if you get the job, but Hyunjin's words fill you with hope.
"So it's settled?" He asks, playing his hands in yours. "You will work for the company?"
"I will have an interview," you attempt to reason, but it's cut short when he throws his arms around you and burrows his face into your neck.
"I can't wait to see you at work everyday," he says, and you can tell he means it. "Getting to see your gorgeous face will make getting through the day so much easier."
You love how easy it is for him to say things that make your heart flutter.
"You probably won't see me every day," you point out, but he just squeezes you tighter.
"Yeah you will, shut up, stop ruining my dream."
You laugh at him as he pulls away from you, leaning in to kiss you gently on the lips. when he pulls away he stares at you, his look full of love.
"Look at us," he says dreamily. "Who would have thought we'd be in a relationship, let alone living together, if you saw us at the start of the year."
You nod. "It's crazy. I feel like my life's done a complete 180. I've gone from a broke college student, no rizz and slaving her life away, to being in a relationship with a CEO."
He laughs at you, moving his hand to your cheek and swiping it gently. "You had plenty rizz. I've been whipped over you for years."
"Yeah, maybe if you had a smidge of rizz we would have been in a relationship years ago."
He scoffs. "You know, you can be such a little shit sometimes."
"But you love me regardless," you point out, leaning into his hand on your cheek. He smiles at you, his look full of adoration.
"You're right. I love you regardless."
The End
-omg wtf. I cannot believe I've finished writing this :(( but don't worry, cause there's still the extra wedding chapter to come soon!! I really hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it 🫶🏻