Wonwoo’s mouth hung open as he sat, frozen on Mingyu’s bedroom floor.

“Oh my god…,” he said weakly.

Mingyu sprang out of bed and knelt down beside him. Worriedly, he scanned up and down his boyfriend. “Wonwoo!”

Wonwoo was still speechless, but seeing his cute boyfriend made him burst out smiling. “Oh my god,” he said more clearly.

“What the !” Mingyu shouted, hardly concerned with how early it was. “You-you’re here!”

“Oh my ing god.” Wonwoo’s grin only grew wider. He couldn’t believe it. He had to be sure. “What time is it?”

Mingyu glanced over at his nightstand where the clock read 5:01am.

“It’s 5,” he said, astonished. He turned back and stared into Wonwoo’s dazzling eyes. He couldn’t help but smile too. He lunged forward and held Wonwoo in his arms. “It’s 5...and you’re here.”

Wonwoo hugged him back. “How? How is this possible?”

He asked but they already knew. They knew all too well, from everything that just happened with Joshua yesterday, to all they had learned about the universe over the course of these crazy months.

Mingyu was too emotional. Tears were welling up in his eyes. He pulled back and looked at Wonwoo’s face. “You...broke the rules.”

Wonwoo laughed. He could feel his eyes getting wet too. “By an hour?! I’ve never heard of that before.”

“This is crazy,” Mingyu admitted.

“Mingyu…” Wonwoo took off his hat and ruffled his hair. Taking in a deep breath, he inhaled Mingyu’s sweet scent. Just a minute ago, he was roaming the streets of New York City, smelling all the must of street hot dogs and sweaty passerbys. And now he was back with the love of his life, a whole hour early. Seeing Mingyu right there made it all click.

“I think I get it.”

Mingyu tilted his head and listened.

Wonwoo smiled and his face. “For so long, all I cared about was stopping. I wanted it so badly. I wanted the universe...to let me stop. I was searching for anything that would get me to stop jumping and it was like I was...begging the universe to see something worth stopping for. I wanted it more than anything.”

He let out a shallow breath. “So every time I jumped, it was like the universe rejected everything I cared about and I hated it even more for that. And it wasn’t until today when Josh jumped here and got to be with Jeonghan, when you asked me if it bothered me that the universe didn’t bend for me…” He chuckled. “That was the first time I realized I had no more hate for the universe.”

Mingyu’s tears began to fall as Wonwoo continued. “I wasn’t angry. I wasn’t bitter. For the first time, the universe didn’t control how I felt. And maybe this is my reward.”

Mingyu couldn’t help it. He leaned in and kissed him.

There were no words that Mingyu could say to convey how he felt. He was so immeasurably happy to hear Wonwoo say those things. The burden his boyfriend carried, the burden that Mingyu had so thoughtfully tried to help with, had been lifted. Mingyu loved this boy so much and their time together had been so tumultuous. Much of their shared pain came from how their feelings came out and how they struggled within themselves. But together, however slowly, it all changed. Mingyu wasn’t the same person he was when he first met Wonwoo. He was no longer that boy who hated relationships and thought being with someone made you less of yourself. Finally allowing himself to be in love with Wonwoo was proof of his evolution.

This was proof of Wonwoo’s.

He never needed to stop. He just needed Mingyu.

Parting their lips, Wonwoo laughed. “You’re all I need, Mingyu.”

Mingyu smiled with him. “You’re all I’ll ever need, Wonwoo.”

— — —

ONE MONTH LATER

— — —

“What do you think of this one, babe?”

Minghao looked up from his laptop. He sat on Junhui’s bed as the boy packed his giant suitcase. He chuckled as he stared at his boyfriend holding up a rather fancy vest to his chest. “Babe, didn’t Soonyoung tell you to pack light?”

Junhui scoffed and lowered his arms. “You never know what to expect! I need outfits for every occasion. Plus I’ve never been to Korea.”

“I’m so jealous you’re going for a week,” Minghao said, leaning his back against the bed frame. “I never get to plan any of my trips. I just show up and—”

“You just show up and stay in some random place for a day,” Junhui interrupted. He rolled his eyes sarcastically. “Yes, yes, you tragically get to travel the world every night. We get it.”

Minghao laughed and threw a pillow at him, “Yah!”

Junhui caught it and laughed with him. “It’s true!” After a moment, he grinned sincerely. “But no, seriously babe, I wish you were coming with me.”

“Me too,” Minghao said. “But you’ll have a great time. And hey, maybe one night I end up there while you’re there.”

“Please!” Junhui put his hands together in prayer. “Please, universe! Let my boyfriend jump to Seoul while I’m there! Preferably drop him somewhere close by to me so he’s not too hard to track down.”

Truly unable to handle him, Minghao laughed even harder. “That’s not how it works!”

“It’s worth a shot!”

Minghao rolled his eyes. “God, why do I even like you?”

Junhui stuck his tongue out and tossed his vest into the suitcase. He crawled onto the bed and rested his head on Minghao’s lap. Looking up into his eyes, he said, “Poor judgment. Lack of choices. Maybe even some color blindness. These are all possible reasons why.”

Minghao leaned down and pecked him on the lips. “Yeah it’s gotta be those.”

Finding his boyfriend’s hand, Junhui intertwined their fingers. Softly circling his thumb against Minghao’s skin, he asked, “I need a list of suggestions of things to do while I’m there from you.”

“Mmmm,” Minghao thought about it. “Well, I’ve definitely got some people you can meet. But Soonyoung already knows them too.”

Junhui snorted. “In much better circumstances now, I must note.”

“Yes,” Minghao chuckled. How the two of them could joke about how Soonyoung and Jihoon used to actively try and ruin Wonwoo’s life was beyond him, but Minghao loved every second of it. He still couldn’t believe how everything turned out. But the most beautiful surprise would always be that Junhui knew who he was all along. All this time he had spent hiding part of himself, trying to get rid of this part before he confessed, it felt so silly now. For years, Minghao thought he could show the universe his love was enough, but it was never about proving anything to the universe. He only needed to prove it to Junhui, and he was so glad he was finally doing that.

Thinking more about one of his favorite cities, Minghao replied, “Oh there are some great photography spots I gotta map out for you.”

“Oooh, yes!”

“You can go there and pretend that you’re with me when I was there,” Minghao teased, using his free hand to loose strands of hair off Junhui’s face.

“Is it much different than when you’re here?” Junhui teased. “You taking way too long and refusing to take a selfie with me?”

“Yes it’s exactly like that.”

Junhui beamed. “I love you, Minghao.”

Minghao leaned down to easily kiss him again. “I love you too.”

— — —

“Alright, alright,” Joshua said as he and Jeonghan walked out of the restaurant. “You’re right. Korean lunch holds a strong candle to American breakfast, I will admit it.”

Jeonghan laughed. Instinctively, he reached his hand down to hold his boyfriend’s. “You can’t get kimchi like that anywhere else in the world, my love.”

“True.” He smiled as he looked over at Jeonghan. He would always be mesmerized by the way his hair swayed so elegantly in the wind. “But I feel like any meal with you is gonna end up being the best.”

Blushing, Jeonghan looked away. “How are you even cheesier on this side of the world?”

It had been one month since Joshua had his back-to-back jump to Korea, one month since he went to tell Jeonghan everything. He told Jeonghan about Wonwoo and how they really knew each other. He told Jeonghan about being a Jumper and how the universe seemed to work. He told him the truth about his dad, how he was never in the hospital and that Joshua never went to visit him at night. He told him about his dad abandoning him, and how he came back for the first time in years. He told him about stopping, and how he thought it was because of their love, but then his dad showed up and confused the hell out of him. He told him about jumping to Korea the day Jeonghan left, and then jumping back the very next day to get him to this long explanation. It was all so much.

But by the end of it, Jeonghan was enamoured. He didn’t pretend to understand everything, but he listened and was so happy to have Joshua by his side again.

And just like that, they picked up right where they had left off. In the past month, Joshua jumped to Korea at least once a week, no questions asked. For the first time in his life, Joshua was more than thankful for being a Jumper. He no longer wanted it to stop.

Swinging their arms slightly as they walked down the street, Joshua said, “Get used to it, Jeonghannie. There’s no getting rid of me.”

Jeonghan smiled. He quickly glanced at his phone and saw it was only noon. He still had several hours until swim practice. “What else do you want to do today, Jisoo-ah?”

“Hmmm, well I’m gonna go to Mingyu and Wonwoo’s place when you go to practice,” he said.

Immediately, Jeonghan pouted. “Ugh! Why do you always have to go there without me! I wanna hang out with them too!”

Joshua laughed and pulled the boy into his body. He tossed his arm over his shoulder as they kept walking. “You live here! You can see them whenever you want!”

“Yeah, but we haven’t been able to go out on a double date with them yet!” Jeonghan complained.

“Well, why don’t we ask them if they’re free today?”

Jeonghan shook his head. “No, I already asked. They have to go to Mingyu’s old place to finish cleaning it out.”

Smiling, Joshua said, “I love that you already asked.”

“Well, now that I know a lot more about one of my closest friends, and that he has so much in common with my boyfriend,” Jeonghan said, “I like the idea that we can all get together more often.”

Joshua kissed Jeonghan on the cheek. “Next time.”

Comfortably leaning his head on Joshua’s shoulder, he said, “How about we get dessert at Milk & Honey?”

Thinking about it for a second, Joshua nonchalantly replied, “I think my dad used to really like that place.”

Jeonghan gently looked over at his boyfriend. After learning everything, he saw Joshua in a new light. He didn’t think it was possible to love him more, but here they were. It all made sense. Of course there was something special about this boy. And on the flip side, of course there was more burdening him than he was letting on.

Jeonghan had only asked further about Joshua’s dad a few times. It wasn’t like he was avoiding the topic, but he didn’t want to push anything onto him. But he did wonder sometimes if there was more Joshua wanted to talk about.

“Have you thought more about your dad lately?”

He let out a faint sigh. “Honestly, a little. I know I don’t owe him anything and nothing is about him, but...something about knowing that now makes it different.”

“How so?”

“Like, I don’t know, without blaming the universe for anything, I can just think of him as my ty dad.”

“Yeah?”

Joshua sighed again. He slowed his pace just slightly as he thought. “And my ty dad also had a ty experience. It doesn’t excuse anything, but I guess I’m less angry now.”

“That’s good, Jisoo.”

Joshua turned to smile at his boyfriend. Never in a million years did he think he’d feel anything but resentment towards his father, but now he knew it wasn’t about him.

“Yeah, I think it’s good too.”

Jeonghan smiled, hearing the peace in his boyfriend’s voice. “So, dessert?”

Joshua squeezed him just a little tighter. “Let’s go.”

— — —

“Okay, so how do you pronounce this?” Chan wrote down the word and spun it around so his webcam could see.

Vernon nodded. “That’s pronounced BA-LOH-NEE,” he said in English, comically exaggerating each syllable.

Chan slammed his hand against his notebook. “Then why is it spelled bologna?!”

Vernon laughed, “Is this really what you meant when you asked me to help you with your English homework?”

Chan laughed. “No, not really. It’s more for my friend. He needs more help than I can give him. He should be here in a few minutes.”

“Cool, cool,” Vernon replied. “I’m glad to be of assistance.” He took a sip of his water before saying, “Mmm, have you seen Joshua lately?”

“Not since last week,” Chan said. “Each time he’s here I’ve been busy with something else but we’ll find more time to hang out. He’s starting to get into a rhythm with being in Seoul so regularly.”

“God, it’s so ing crazy. I’m glad he’s got all of you guys over there.”

“You should come out here and visit sometime, Hansol,” Chan suggested.

“Yeah? With what money?” he laughed.

Chan laughed with him. “I guess jumping is a little more economical.”

Chuckling, Vernon said, “I’ve been saving up a lot of money these days though! Maybe in the next few months I can make my way over there to be with everyone.”

Chan opened his mouth and was about to say more when he saw the cafe doors flying open and his friend rushing through. Seeing this scene, Chan looked back down at Vernon on his screen. “Maybe you should just stay in America.”

“Sorry, sorry I’m here!” Seungkwan dramatically hollered. He dropped his backpack on the floor and slid into the booth seat across from Chan. “You wouldn’t believe the traffic getting here.”

“You walked here,” Chan pointed out.

“Foot traffic, obviously,” Seungkwan responded, unamused.

Distantly, Seungkwan could hear laughing coming from Chan’s laptop. He nodded his chin up. “Whatcha watching?”

“Oh,” Chan said, turning the laptop to face Seungkwan. “Seungkwan, this is my friend Vernon I was telling you about. He’s going to be your English tutor.”

“Oh!” Seungkwan exclaimed, half surprised to be meeting Chan’s friend so abruptly, and the other half from how surprisingly cute Vernon was on the screen. “Hi! Nice to finally meet you!”

Vernon smiled, his gums clearly showing. He could see how slightly disheveled Seungkwan was, his hair a bit roughed-up and his uniform tie a bit crooked. It was kind of adorable. “Hi, nice to meet you too. Chan’s told me all about you.”

“Has he now?” Seungkwan shot Chan a glance, but the boy just shrugged.

“All good things, I promise.”

Seungkwan smiled at Vernon. “Well, good. Thanks again for helping me out with my English. I’m really struggling with this class right now.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Vernon said. “Hopefully you don’t mind that I’m helping from the other side of the world.”

Seungkwan laughed. “I guess that just means you’ll have to come visit here then, huh?”

Smiling, Vernon said, “I guess I will.”

Chan watched Seungkwan’s face light up as he spoke to Vernon. He took a sip of his drink and grinned to himself, totally aware of what was happening right before him.

— — —

“Uhhhh, babe?”

Seokmin wiped the flour off his hands onto his apron before looking up to see his boyfriend. “Yeah?”

Soonyoung gave him a nervous smile. His hands were completely covered in clumped up batter. “I don’t think I did this right.”

Seokmin bursted out laughing as he came over to help. “Soonyoung, what did you do?!”

“I followed the recipe!” he exclaimed, gesturing at the paper instructions on the counter. “I don’t know where I went wrong!”

Seokmin’s smile stretched across his entire face. He couldn’t deal with his insanely stupid boyfriend. “That’s okay, we’ll figure it out.”

Soonyoung smiled and planted a kiss lightly on Seokmin’s cheek. “You’re so impressive. You do this all the time at work.”

“Sweetie, usually cupcakes aren’t that hard to make,” Seokmin laughed, but still pleased with any of Soonyoung’s complements.

“Still, yours are the best.”

From across the counter, Jihoon scoffed as he was frosting his cupcakes. “You should know by now, Seokmin. Soonyoung will always find a way to mess something up.”

Seokmin laughed as he got a wet rag to wipe Soonyoung’s hands. Soonyoung glared at his friend. “Don’t pretend like you’re not struggling.”

“What do you mean?” Jihoon said, gesturing at his impressive dozen. “Mine look great! Don’t they, Seungcheol?”

Seungcheol, who was leaning over the counter already eating a cupcake, smirked. “You look so hot when you’re baking, babe.”

Jihoon rolled his eyes. He pointed his butter knife at Seungcheol. “I will stab you.”

Seungcheol smiled. He stood up straight and towered over his boyfriend. He took the boy by the wrist and held Jihoon’s arm so the knife was pointed to his throat. “I dare you,” he whispered, an eyebrow raised.

Jihoon’s face immediately flushed, his cheeks matching his hair. Even though they were together, Jihoon was nowhere near immune to Seungcheol’s antics. He snatched his hand back and turned away. “You’re so dumb.”

Satisfied, Seungcheol laughed. He put down his cupcake and stepped over to hold Jihoon from behind. He leaned down to rest his chin on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “And you are freakin’ adorable.” He planted a kiss right on his cheek, forcing Jihoon to smile.

Like many who were involved throughout his time of knowing Seungcheol, Jihoon couldn’t believe this is where they ended up. Never in a million years did he think he’d give up Wonwoo’s story, but now he was so grateful that he did. He and Soonyoung still had strong ambitions of becoming top notch journalists, but now they were going to do it the right way. And somehow, along the way, they’d picked up a few boyfriends to match. Jihoon protested against the double dates at first, but finally gave in once the other three wouldn’t let it go.

Seungcheol was so happy with Jihoon. He loved this rage-filled little person more than he thought was possible. Jihoon challenged him in the best ways. He showed him how warm of a person he truly was, and how much he really did care for others’ well-being. It was all so unbelievable, but Seungcheol was so glad this is how it all turned out. Seungcheol was always the guy who put his friends before anyone else. He never stopped to think about what he was missing in his own life. Now he could no longer imagine his days without Jihoon. Who else could he tease so endlessly yet also want to kiss forever? It was only Jihoon.

Seokmin grinned as he finished wiping Soonyoung’s hands. “Alright, baby, we’re gonna try this again. But this time I’ll watch you the whole time.”

“Promise?” Soonyoung asked, teasingly.

“Of course. But really, you know I’m always watching you.” Seokmin winked, leading Soonyoung to grab his face and eagerly kiss him on the lips. Soonyoung pulled back and beamed. “You know I can’t resist it when you do that.”

Seokmin and Soonyoung were in a great place too. All the walls they’d knocked down together lead them to a relationship filled with trust and an insane amount of laughs. Seokmin never thought he could let his guard down around anyone, but there was something so liberating about being that vulnerable with Soonyoung. They knew each other. They were in love. There was no denying it, and there was no greater truth Seokmin could find than that. As for Soonyoung, he just felt so happy that he could prove to the boy he loved that he would only be honest with him. He had nothing to hide. He was no longer the bad guy. They were in this together, as they would always be from now on.

Still wrapped around Jihoon, Seungcheol looked up and asked, “So what are we gonna do with all these cupcakes anyway?”

“Well, with the four of us and Mingyu and Wonwoo, I’m sure we’ll be able to get through them all,” Seokmin replied.

Piping some frosting onto a spoon, Soonyoung said, “Yeah, but Wonwoo doesn’t even like sweets.”

Jihoon rolled his eyes as Seungcheol chuckled. Seokmin lightly patted Soonyoung on the arm and said, “Try not to be that creepy when they’re around, okay babe?”

“Sorry, you’re right,” Soonyoung said, now a little embarrassed. “So when’s Mingyu moving out again?”

Seungcheol sighed. “Soon.”

Hearing how sad Seungcheol sounded, Jihoon glanced over at him. “Aww, are you still bummed about Mingyu leaving, babe?”

Seungcheol squeezed him tighter. “Yeah, I am. I get it though, he and Wonwoo are going to find a place together. He’s really excited about that.”

“And he’s going to take all the cats with him,” Seokmin said, also a little sad. “He’s so happy to finally give them a permanent home.”

“It’s just gonna be so crazy not living with him anymore.”

Jihoon put his knife down and turned around to hug Seungcheol back. “I know babe, that’s gonna be hard to adjust to. But he won’t be far! Do you know where he’s moving to yet?”

Seungcheol shook his head. “Not yet. They haven’t found anything quite yet.”

Jihoon gave him a small smile. “Then you still have some time.”

Seungcheol smiled back. “Yeah, we do.”

Soonyoung looked over at Seokmin and grinned. “I’ve never seen Jihoon so calm.”

Seokmin walked into his arms and squeezed his waist. “Seungcheol has that effect on people.”

“You have that effect on me,” Soonyoung whispered.

Seokmin’s heart fluttered. “Yeah?”

Soonyoung kissed him on the forehead. “Yeah.”

— — —

“How do you have that much more stuff to pack? You wear like the same four shirts,” Wonwoo teased Mingyu as they walked up the stairs to his apartment, arms swinging together.

Mingyu laughed. “There’s still a lot! I’ve got my shoes and my pants I need to fold, not to mention all the cat supplies.”

“You’re such a dork.”

“Do you wanna make me a list of what I still need to pack?” Mingyu joked as they approached his front door. Boba and Berry were chilling on the railing while the grey cat lounged by the door mat.

“Ughhhhhh, no that sounds like so much WORK,” Wonwoo groaned.

“How do you not have more to pack, huh?”

Wonwoo smiled and pointed to his chest. “I’m low maintenance, baby! Give me an afternoon and I can have my life packed up and ready to go.”

“Uh huh?” Mingyu said, an eyebrow raised.

“That and if the government ever came after me it’d be easy to get out.”

“There it is,” Mingyu snickered.

Before Mingyu could reach into his pocket for his key, the front door opened.

“Oh!” Jihoon exclaimed, almost running right into Wonwoo. The surprise slowly washed off his face and he smiled. “Hey guys.”

Wonwoo smiled back at him. “Hey Jihoon.”

It was undeniable that Wonwoo’s long history with Jihoon and Soonyoung could not be erased. But with the three of them all finally on the same page, and somehow dating within the same circle of friends, they’d learned to be civil. Maybe one day they could go beyond that, but for now, this was more than Wonwoo could ever ask for.

Holding a plate of cupcakes covered in plastic wrap, Soonyoung came into view. He and Jihoon stepped outside and closed the door. He smiled. “Hey guys, hope you’re craving cupcakes. There’s about fifty of them in the fridge for you guys.”

Mingyu chuckled, “Thanks, were you guys leaving?”

Jihoon checked his watch. “Yeah we’ve gotta stop by the office at 5. Got some paper—OW!”

All four of them looked down to find the grey cat clawing at Jihoon’s calf. Luckily he was wearing jeans, but still.

Mingyu leaned down and immediately picked him up. “Hey!” He looked the cat right in the face. “What was that about?!”

Jihoon brushed off his leg. “Nah, it’s okay. The two of us never really got along.”

Wonwoo was shocked to see the usually docile grey cat hiss at Jihoon. Jihoon got in his face. “Yeah, isn’t that right meanie?”

He hissed again.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Jihoon said.

Surprised, Mingyu asked, “What did you just call him?”

“What? Oh I’m sorry, that was mean I didn’t—”

“No, no,” Mingyu interrupted. “What did you just call him?”

“What, Meanie?” Jihoon said, unsure.

He hissed again.

Mingyu and Wonwoo gave each other shocked, knowing looks. Mingyu turned back to the cat in his arms. He looked at his nameless friend and said, “Did you just respond to Meanie?”

“Meow!”

Soonyoung looked between everybody. “I’m so confused.”

Mingyu laughed as Wonwoo smiled. He reached over and scratched Meanie’s head. “It’s okay. I think Jihoon just helped finally name this guy.”

Jihoon was stunned to see how calm his little acquaintance was being now. “Well, I’m glad I could help someone.”

Soonyoung laughed and said, “Come on, we gotta go. We’ll see you guys later.”

They exchanged their goodbyes as Mingyu continued to be awestruck. Wonwoo opened the door as his boyfriend continued his conversation with the cat.

“Meanie.”

“Meow.”

“Your name’s Meanie.”

“Meow.”

Wonwoo laughed and shut the door behind them. “That’s not a food though.”

Mingyu smiled. “I’ll make an exception.”

From the kitchen, Seokmin stuck his head out of the fridge and smiled at his friends. “Hey guys, welcome back.”

Wonwoo looked over. “Hey Seokmin.” Only now did he notice what a mess the kitchen was. “Woah, what happened in here?”

Seokmin nervously laughed, “My boyfriend’s poor baking skills, that’s what happened. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d probably have to scrap his batch.”

Wonwoo nodded. “Well, at least he’s a better reporter than he is a baker.”

“True dat.”

“Finally there’s someone else that Seokmin can make fun of that isn’t me.” Seungcheol’s voice came from the hallway as he came into view.

Wonwoo laughed, but Mingyu looked over at Seokmin and said, “Let me guess, he didn’t even try to help.”

“He ate and made heart-eyes at Jihoon the whole time.” Seokmin said.

Seungcheol shrugged. “It’s what I do best.”

Wonwoo smiled as he watched his boyfriend and his friends interact. “Well, I’m gonna go with Meanie here to help finish packing.” Reaching over to take the cat from Mingyu’s arms, he leaned in and said, “You should tell them the good news.”

Mingyu watched Wonwoo walk down the hallway to his room as Seungcheol asked, “What good news?”

Mingyu grinned and walked over to the living room, taking a seat on the couch. “Well, ya know how I’m moving out.”

“Don’t remind me,” Seungcheol groaned, going to sit next to him.

Seokmin chuckled and took the seat across from him. “Yes.”

Mingyu looked back and forth from the two of them. “Well, we finally found an apartment.”

“Nice! Where is it?” Seokmin exclaimed.

Mingyu smiled even bigger. “Here.”

“What?!” Seungcheol shouted, completely shocked.

Mingyu laughed. “Here! There’s a smaller apartment downstairs that’s gonna be available next week.” As he spoke, he could see his friends’ faces light up. “We figured we didn’t want to take the cats too far from where they’re used to.”

“Oh my god!” Seokmin cheered.

Seungcheol lunged over and squeezed Mingyu so tight he couldn’t breathe. “Thank ing god! I wasn’t ready for you to be so far, man!”

Laughing, Mingyu wiggled his way out of Seungcheol’s embrace. “Come on, it wasn’t like I was ever gonna be that far from you guys!”

“We didn’t know! Maybe you were going to abandon us!” Seokmin hollered.

Mingyu smiled, showing all his teeth. “No, I could never do that to you guys. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

Seungcheol beamed. “God Mingyu, you never cease to amaze us.”

“I’ve been so lucky to have you guys,” he said softly. “I don’t think I ever got to say how thankful I’ve been for the two of you.”

Seokmin knew how much weight those words carried. He stared on at his two best friends. The past few months had been a whirlwind. New relationships brought so much change to each of their lives, but their friendship always stayed the same. For that he was so grateful.

Seungcheol knew too. All this time he’d spent protecting Mingyu and Wonwoo had led him to something special as well. He was so happy to see that there was someone who could bring so much love to his best friend, someone else who wasn’t a cat.

Seungcheol firmly gripped Mingyu’s shoulder. “We’re thankful for you, too, Mingyu.”

Mingyu smiled, slightly teary eyed. “You guys are seriously like my family.”

Seokmin smiled. “And we always will be.”

— — —

“No ing way, guys!” Minghao exclaimed, walking into the Japanese cafe.

“MINGHAO!” the other three cheered. They all got up on their feet and crowded the Chinese Jumper. None of them cared that they drew attention to themselves.

Chan laughed so hard. “I can’t believe this!”

Joshua smiled from ear to ear. “It’s been done, boys! It’s been done!”

“Finally!” Wonwoo cried.

Joshua patted Minghao on the back. “When’s the last time I saw you man? I feel like I see these fools all the time now!”

Minghao wrapped his arms around Joshua. “It’s been a minute! I’m so jealous you guys get to see each other way more often! I feel so left out!”

“I promise, you’re not missing much,” Chan said, “It doesn’t take much to get sick and tired of these guys.”

They all laughed as Wonwoo led the way back out the front door. The streets of Tokyo were buzzing this late at night. The world was theirs.

“I can’t believe this,” Wonwoo said.

Chan reached up and threw his arm over Wonwoo’s shoulder. “Ya know hyung, I can’t believe much of anything anymore.”

Wonwoo smiled. Chan was right. What was there even to believe anymore? Finally, the universe didn’t make sense.

“Actually, you know what I really can’t believe,” Chan started to say. He stepped forward to look back at his group of friends, “is that ALL of you guys are in relationships now! Literally, what the ?!”

They all laughed. Minghao lunged forward and shoved Chan by the shoulders. “Ya! What’s so hard to believe about that huh?!”

“I’ve known you guys for years! Suddenly, you’ve all found someone to tolerate you more than I do?”

Joshua smiled. He thought of Jeonghan and his incredibly sweet laugh. He thought of the way his hair tickled his nose when they napped together. He imagined their fingers interlocked, walking down the streets of Seoul like it was the most normal thing in the world. Joshua’s heart soared whenever you remembered the first time they met only a few months ago. Was it love at first sight? He could remember the butterflies he felt and how happy he was every time he got Jeonghan to smile. All that time they’d spent together in LA felt like it was exactly where he was supposed to be. No matter where they were in the world, Joshua knew he’d feel that way when he was with Jeonghan.

“I guess so,” he said.

Minghao smiled. Just a few hours ago, he was with Junhui and it already felt like too long. There was nothing he loved more than the way Junhui said his name. He loved how excited his boyfriend would get when showing him a new print or finding a new location where they could take photos together. His eyes would sparkle whenever he talked about his friends and family. Every day Minghao was making new favorite memories with the boy who raced through his dreams. Everything Minghao loved about Junhui he had loved even before they were together. They always had something special, and they both knew it. It was true love.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said.

Wonwoo smiled. He looked across at his friends who had always stuck by his side. Through his bitterness and his grief, they were there. When he lost, when he loved, they were there. As Jumpers, they knew what insanity was, but never an adventure quite like what they all just went through. And it was amazing that at the end of it, he also had Mingyu.

“Yeah,” he said. “I guess we did.”

— — —

4:55am.

Mingyu yawned and stretched out his arms. He sat up in bed and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Lined against the wall were cardboard boxes filled with his belongings. Almost everything was packed up except for his furniture. He was ready for this next chapter.

He looked over at his clock and smiled. He didn’t even need an alarm to wake him up any longer. All he had to do now was wait. Mingyu rested his eyes as he leaned his back against the wall.

“I told you to stop getting up at this time.”

Mingyu opened his eyes and grinned dreamily. He reached out his hand for Wonwoo to take it. “I can’t help it. My body just knows when you’ll be here now.”

Wonwoo smiled and took his boyfriend’s hand. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“You’re about to move into an apartment with me and live with like 8 cats,” Mingyu said. “I think you’ve earned it.”

Wonwoo laughed. He slipped out of his shoes and street clothes before crawling into bed. Under the sheets, he laid on his side and quietly stared at Mingyu’s face. Mingyu quietly stared back.

“Do you remember when we first met?” Wonwoo asked, gently.

Mingyu scoffed. “How could I forget? You stole my jacket.”

“Borrowed your jacket,” Wonwoo chuckled. “Of course I was going to get it back to you.”

“How?” Mingyu protested. “You were lucky we accidentally exchanged phones or we might never have seen each other again.”

Wonwoo reached over to hold Mingyu’s hand between them. “No way. The universe was definitely going to put us together somehow.”

“So the universe is the good guy, in this case?”

“We’re on better terms now.”

Mingyu laughed. He leaned over and kissed him. “I’m glad.”

Wonwoo was so happy. Tomorrow, he would tell Mingyu all about his time with Minghao, Chan, and Joshua in Japan. He’d tell him about how they went to a cat cafe together and ate takoyaki until they couldn’t breathe. They’d laugh together and make fun of their friends and talk about how fun it all was. But that could wait until tomorrow. Tonight, Wonwoo was just so happy to be with the boy he loved. Mingyu was more than the universe could’ve ever given Wonwoo. All those painful nights out in the world alone felt like a distant memory. Just to be in the same space as Mingyu, even for a single moment, was all Wonwoo ever needed.

Mingyu was so happy. He never thought he could feel this way about anyone. He never knew how limited his heart was until he met Wonwoo. All that time spent fighting it now felt like the dumbest thing he’d ever done. He couldn’t imagine not being with Wonwoo. There was no world in which he could deny his heart to the boy he loved so much. Wonwoo showed him what it meant to have a great love like this, to have your best friend be the person you could call yours. Mingyu’s heart swelled for Wonwoo, and he was just so happy.

Wonwoo smiled. “I love you, Mingyu.”

Mingyu smiled back. “I love you, too, Wonwoo."