Jongin feels the world closing in on him with every step; his heart heavier with every added distance between him and the only place he would rather be...

...by Kyungsoo’s side.

He’s not good with expressing his emotions but the name alone is enough for the corners of his lips to turn down. His expression turns dark at the mere thought of Kyungsoo wanting somebody that is not him.

His heart clenches tight alongside with his fists and he releases a groan of frustration, kicking away a stone on his path and watching it hit the side of the monkey bars with a dull sound.

The view stops him on his tracks, eyes raking over the rusty, old frame of the slides and the dying tree on the far left of the abandoned playground. He remembers a laughing Kyungsoo running towards the swing, shouting at Jongin to push him up, up and away.

The memory brings a wry smile on Jongin’s face. It’s bittersweet; beautiful and painful as he plays the memory like an old film with the edges burning from old age.

His heart constricts once more when he realizes how similar the thought is to what is happening now.

There’s a buzzing on his pocket once more and he runs a hand through his hair in frustration, not knowing how to deal with all the emotions he’s feeling at the moment as he finally fishes his phone out.

Jongin lets out a sigh when he sees who it is, thumb caressing the screen numerous times before pocketing it once more. He knows Kyungsoo is worried sick and he knows he’s going to be punished for leaving his side but he can’t bear to be near him; not with all the thoughts going on inside his head.

His phone buzzes once more and he’s about to turn it off but the sound that blares alongside with it makes him stop and fish it out, thumb swiping the screen at once.

“Hyung?”

“Where are you?”

Jongin bites his lip, looking at the playground once more and sighing audibly. He hears Seungsoo sigh from the other line as well and he pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“I’m sorry I left the young master’s side. I’ll go back-”

“I already sent Jinki and Changmin with him.” Seungsoo cuts him off, “Where are you?”

So Kyungsoo still went out..

The thought renders him silent for a second more before slumping down on the old wooden bench, hanging his head down and whispering where he is in a low voice.

The line cuts off and Jongin exhales loudly, tilting his head up and watching the orange glow from the sun dying down for the stars.

“Just like me.” he mumbles for the silence to hear.

“Mr. Do?”

Kyungsoo looks up, feeling instantly bad at the concerned look Sohyun is giving him. He shakes his head and musters up a weak smile, “Mr. Do is my father. Kyungsoo is fine.”

Sohyun leans back and smiles sheepishly in return, gaze lowering down to her plate as she tries to hide the pretty pink stain on her cheeks.

Kyungsoo feels the shame growing inside him as he watches Sohyun tell him about her day, eyes bright and cheeks red with enthusiasm. He gazes at her fondly even when his thoughts are filled with nothing but sleepy eyes and a lazy smile.

He wants to leave; wants to say sorry to the lovely girl in front of him for thinking of someone else when she seems so happy to be with him. He wants to stop everything before it even began when he stepped inside the lavish restaurant but he couldn’t; not when Sohyun looked up with at him with eyes filled with wonder.

“Kyungsoo.”

He looks up once more, an apology ready to spill from his lips again but Sohyun beats him to it with a shake of her head.

“I’m sorry you were dragged into this.” she says instead, smiling fondly at Kyungsoo and the shame inside him bubbles higher. “I shouldn’t have forced you to stay when you look so distracted the moment you came.”

“No.” Kyungsoo starts, frantically shaking his head. “I should be the one saying sorry. It’s disrespectful of me to not pay you the attention you deserve.”

His eyes are downcast but no matter how shameful he is at the moment, he couldn’t bear to tear his thoughts away from the only person who’s been running constantly in his mind.

Kyungsoo jolts when he feels something warm and soft touch the top of his hand, eyes meeting Sohyun’s understanding one. She gives his hand a squeeze before pulling back and smiling. “You should go where you should be.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes grow wide, heartbeat racing impossibly fast at the thought of running after Jongin, even when he has no idea where the male is.

“But what about-”

“Whoever that person is must be very special,” Sohyun cuts him off, “and someone as special as that person deserve to be with someone as special as they are.”

Kyungsoo returns the smile weakly, quickly grabbing Sohyun’s hand and returning the gesture from earlier before standing up. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

Sohyun watches with flushed cheeks as Kyungsoo rushes out of the place, holding the hand Kyungsoo touched against her cheeks, completely aware of the frantic beating of her heart.

There’s a pretty smile on her face when he breathes out; something beautiful and sad.

“Lucky.”

Kyungsoo throws his shoes in frustration the moment he enters the house, pulling his tie loose and swallowing back the scream threatening to come out. Jinki and Changmin stays rooted at the door, not knowing how to handle the younger’s tantrums. They’ve never seen Kyungsoo like this mostly because Jongin would always be there to calm the male down; except Jongin’s not there and Kyungsoo just went ahead and threw his coat on the opposite wall.

“Young master-”

“No.” Kyungsoo says simply, shoulders stiff as he drags himself towards his - their- bedroom.

He about ready to throw more things on his bed when he opens the door but halts when he sees an opened backpack sitting lonely in the middle of the bed.

Jongin enters the room from the walk-in closet, eyes immediately meeting Kyungsoo’s large ones. He ignores the way his heartbeat trips and stumbles from how fast it sped up at the sight of the shorter male.

“Where are you going?”

Kyungsoo whispers, swallowing the fear building inside his throat. His chest is tight and the air around him feels like it thinning until he couldn’t breathe. “Jongin?”

Jongin zips the bag close, hitching it up on one shoulder and standing in front of Kyungsoo. He opens his mouth, finding the right words that would not hurt his most important person but to no avail, nothing comes up.

“He’s coming with me.”

Kyungsoo whips around, eyeing Seungsoo with wide eyes, disbelief painted in every part of his face.

“No, he’s not.” he grits out, clenching his fists on his side and ignoring the heat on the edges of his eyes. “He’s staying here. With me.”

Kyungsoo forces his glare to level at Seungsoo’s stare. The thought of Jongin leaving with his brother scares him in more ways than one. Seungsoo never stays still long enough; always going to various branches of their business and if he takes Jongin with him… he’ll definitely be gone ages.

Behind him, Jongin’s breath hitches and he forces his gaze away from Kyungsoo lest he crumbles and backs down; his will threatening to come down at the mere sight of the sole person he’s sworn to dedicate his life for.

“He’s coming with me.” Seungsoo repeats, stance lazy and cool as he peers at Jongin from behind his younger brother. “Father already approved with Jongin coming with me to Japan. He’ll be able to learn a lot of things, isn’t that right, Jongin?”

Kyungsoo turns his head, eyes watching Jongin look past him and towards his brother.

Jongin nods and Kyungsoo feels his knees go weak.

“Yes.” Jongin says, walking past Kyungsoo and following Seungsoo towards the hallway.

Kyungsoo watches him walk away, the image playing slowly just how like his heart breaks. He stares and feels himself suffocating when Jongin tilts his head slightly, nodding at him before disappearing.

“Young master!”