Coffee Love #41 - Departure
Word Count: 3,287

Date in Chapter: 2017 June 19

Note: This is the 49th chapter of Coffee Love 4! That means the next chapter is a Coffee Break, which should be up shortly after this one! Because of that, I’m going to skip to the part where Jihoon is finally leaving so that we can move on with the next part of the story when we get back from our Coffee Break. So, yeah. Warning for Coffee Creamer #1 stuff. Enjoy!

Jungkook’s POV

        “Jungkook.”

Jungkook doesn’t budge. He hears Jihoon loud and clear, but he doesn’t move. This is the last time that Jihoon will be here to wake Jungkook in the morning, and Jungkook just isn’t ready to let him go yet. He knows he’s selfish, but he only doesn’t want Jihoon to go because he loves him. He knows this is important for Jihoon, but he wants to keep him right there.

“Come on, Jeon.” Jihoon says, patting Jungkook’s through the sheets. “I know you’re awake.”

“I can’t do this, Hyung.” Jungkook says, burying his face in the pillow. He’s tired of pretending to be okay with this.

Jihoon sighs, and he cards his fingers through Jungkook’s hair. “It’s not exactly easy for me, either.” Jihoon assures him, or at least his tries to. It’s not really reassuring. If it’s not easy for Jihoon, why can’t he just stay here? Why does he have to leave? It doesn’t make sense. “We have four more hours together, and I really don’t want to spend it with you lying in bed.”

Jungkook knows this. He knows that he should get up and be happy today. He knows that being depressed about Jihoon leaving isn’t going to make Jihoon stay, and he knows that it’s not going to make this any easier on Jihoon either. Still, he can’t find it in himself to fake happy anymore.

“I’m happy that you’re here right now.” Jungkook says, finally bringing himself off of the mattress. “So I’m going to focus on that to keep myself from crying today.”

“That’s all I ask.” Jihoon assures him, and he pulls Jungkook off of the bed so that he’ll get ready.

Jimin’s POV

        “Delivery for Park Jimin.”

“What the—” Are the only two words to leave Jimin’s mouth when he looks up from his desk to find a delivery person holding a large bouquet of flowers and a big box of mochi cakes. Had it not been for the mochi, Jimin would have questioned who it could have come from. “Right here.” He says, and signs a paper for the delivery person to leave.

Attached to the flowers is a little note, and Jimin takes it off to read it. “My dear Jimin,” Jimin rolls his eyes. It’s always cute when Taehyung tries to play the romantic because he is definitely not that. Not in Jimin’s eyes, anyway. “I bought you some flowers and mochi because you’re special to me, and you deserve spontaneous gifts once in a while. I know you’re probably thinking how lame and cheesy this is, but don’t you even try to deny that it brought a smile to your face. I love you, and have a good day at work. Love, Taehyung.”

“He’s such a loser.” Jimin says, ripping the lid off the mochi box, thankful that there is no one around for him to hide his glowing cheeks from—the delivery person having left already. “Why do I love him so much?”

Jimin lifts his head to look around and make sure that Taehyung is, in fact, not there. He has this weird habit of showing up at the most inconvenient times, so Jimin wouldn’t be really surprised if he did wind up being there. Instead of being met by Taehyung’s smiling face, Jimin just sees all of his co-workers working busily at their desks, and he almost feels kind of disappointed. A part of him had sort of wished that Taehyung would have just randomly been there.

“Is that from your boyfriend?” Minki, one of the new hires asks, rolling his chair over to Jimin’s cubical. He’s met Taehyung on a couple of occasions, but apparently he doesn’t fully understand Jimin’s relationship status.

“Taehyung is my husband,” Jimin corrects him, “But yes. This is from him.”

“That’s so cute.” Minki says, spinning in his chair. “Is today a special occasion or something?”

“Not that I know of.” Jimin says, and he tilts his head in thought as he looks at the flowers. It wouldn’t really be unlike Taehyung to get Jimin a gift for no reason, but there could be something about today that Jimin is just completely unaware of. “But, knowing Taehyung, it could be anything. Like the one year anniversary of our first fight or something.”

Minki chuckles at that. “That makes it even cuter.” He says. “Taehyung is exactly the kind of boyfriend I want to be.”

Jimin rolls his eyes again, this time at the newbie’s statement. “Believe me, I’m sure no one could pull of being exactly like Taehyung besides for Taehyung himself.” Jimin says, way more fond than he probably needs to. “There’s just this certain charm about him that doesn’t really work on anyone else.”

Minki smiles, knowingly. “I think it’s more that his charm doesn’t work on anyone but you.” Minki says. “It doesn’t take a genius to tell that you two were practically made for each other.”

“Yeah, well, we’re both idiots, so it took us long enough to figure it out.” Jimin says, and he offers one of his mochi cakes to Minki.

Minki rolls his eyes. “I know that I haven’t even known you guys for more than a month now,” He says, “But I admire what you have together. I just hope I can find that for myself one day.”

“I’m sure you will.” Jimin assures his friend, but he’s almost certain that it takes a very special and rare sort of connection to have what he and Taehyung has. Sure there are people like Seokjin and Namjoon who are seemingly perfect for each other, but Jimin just doesn’t think that it’s the same thing.

Namjoon’s POV

        “I’ve been working on these lyrics for a while,” Jiho says after reading them over to Namjoon. He sets the paper with the lyrics on it onto the table and sighs as he lowers his head to the surface. “I just don’t think that it’s everything that I want it to be. I’m not quite happy with it yet.”

Namjoon grabs the paper from the counter, looking the words over again. It’s a love song, which is quite different from what Jiho usually writes, and Namjoon is no idiot. He knows that the song is supposed to be about and dedicated to Sangwon. While most companies wouldn’t be okay with their artists starting a relationship like Jiho and Sangwon has, Namjoon is actually glad to see them together. He’s glad to see that they’re still together. Sangwon had certainly made Jiho decide to finally get his act together, and Jiho isn’t anywhere near as much of a as he used to be. It’s sort of like Namjoon’s two best friends, Jiho and Yoongi, were complete before finding that one person who could make them happy. Now he can only wonder why he put up with both of their crap for so long.

“Since it’s about Sangwon, why don’t you just write what you really feel?” Namjoon suggests, sliding the lyrics back to his friend. “Here, I can see that you’re going for generally accepted lyrics and phrases—things that you find in just about every song, but it doesn’t actually capture you in it. If you want to feel more comfortable and proud of the piece, I think it’s important that you ignore the standard and just say what you really want to.”

Jiho frowns as he looks at the paper before him. “Isn’t that…I mean, it’s hard to make a personal song,” Jiho says, sighing. “Especially when it’s over such a topic.”

Jihoon’s POV

        Of course Jihoon doesn’t ave anywhere to be today. Since this is the day that he’s supposed to be leaving to Paris, he made sure that Yoongi understood that his last day at the company would be Friday. Last Friday, so it’s already past. Seokjin was also kind enough to give Jungkook the day off work, and he did it because he knew that this would be Jihoon’s last day in Seoul. Jihoon is forever thankful that Seokjin is such a good boss. Maybe he’s only like that because Jungkook is his favorite, but still.

It’s weird walking downtown with Jungkook right now. Not in the sense that he feels weird being with Jungkook, but in the sense that it’s weird to think that he’ll be leaving him in just a couple of hours. As they walk, hand in hand, he recalls the earlier days of their relationship. He remembers the first time they went to watch a movie together for Christmas, and he recalls the first time they went out for ice-cream and a walk in the park.

A lot of things have changed since then, and Jihoon is happy with all of the changes. He’s happy that he and Jungkook moved in together, even if it was a bit early in their relationship. He’s happy that he and Jungkook are engaged, even if that, too, was a bit early in their relationship. Most of all, he’s happy that he and Jungkook have enough trust in their relationship for Jungkook to be okay with Jihoon flying over to another country to work for a year. Judging by how insecure Jungkook was in the beginning, this is not something that could have happened earlier.

He thinks back to their first kiss. The one that happened before they were even official. It happened on the day of Namjoon and Seokjin’s wedding, and it was when Jihoon had dropped Jungkook off outside of his apartment. Jihoon wasn’t even looking for a relationship, and he wasn’t supposed to fall for anyone. None of that mattered, though, when he brought Jungkook home that night only after really enjoying the time that they had spent together. He wanted Jungkook to kiss him, so he kind of asked Jungkook to kiss him. Jungkook did kiss him, and that was the moment that Jihoon decided he didn’t care that he was supposed to be focusing on his studies and work. He wanted Jungkook to be his, and his alone.

“For you.” Jungkook’s voice brings Jihoon out of his flashbacks as he hands a cone of shaved ice to him.

Jihoon accepts it, smiling at the fact that Jungkook decided to do something a little different today. Normally it would be ice-cream, but it’s nice to do something a little different on Jihoon’s last day in Seoul.

“Have you ever had shaved ice before?” Jungkook asks, taking another cone for himself from the server. Once he gets a spoon, they walk away from the stand. Jihoon doesn’t know where they are going or what they are doing, but he doesn’t really care either. He’s just thankful for the time that he’s spending with Jungkook.

“Maybe when I was really small and went on a day trip with my aunt or something.” Jihoon says. He never really knew what was so special about shaved ice. Why it was such a popular treat, but he found himself enjoying it right now.

“Hyung, you are really small.” Jungkook teases with that stupid smirk on his face. The one he uses when he teases Jihoon about anything and everything he can about.

“Shut up,” Jihoon demands, shoving Jungkook with the palm of his hand, but it barely makes the younger stumble, and Jungkook only ends up laughing. “You know what I mean.”

“I do know what you mean, but I couldn’t really let you leave Seoul today without getting you a little fired up, now could I?” Jungkook questions. Jihoon can tell that he’s still trying to use that same teasing tone, but he’s having difficulty because he’s still laughing a little. It’s cute. Jungkook is cute.

“You could.” Jihoon says. “But then I’d probably feel like you hate me.”

“Hey, you act like I pick on you all the time.” Jungkook says, nudging Jihoon. Unlike Jungkook, Jihoon actually does stumble a little, but Jungkook grabs onto his arm to keep him steady.

“You do.” Jihoon tells him. “You always tease me about my height.”

“Does it bother you?” Jungkook asks, sounding slightly offended and slightly apologetic. “I mean, I know you don’t like other people doing it, but you never say anything to me.”

Jihoon shakes his head. “You’re the only one who’s allowed to tease me about my height.” Jihoon says. “I like it when you do it because even I have to admit that the whole tol and smol thing we have going on is adorable.”

“You’re adorable.” Jungkook says, nudging Jihoon lightly with his elbow this time.

Jihoon knows that Jungkook is sad. He can just tell because he’s not as bubbly and smily as he usually is, but he’s thankful that the younger is putting up such a strong effort to not seem sad today. That means everything to Jihoon.

Hoseok’s POV

        Ever since Hoseok had gotten back from his training, he had been spending most of his time and energy—while Yoongi is at work at least—into helping getting the building ready to open up. The studio that he’ll be using for his hip-hop dance class is already fixed up, and it’s ready for the kids to come and use on Friday. While he’s excited about getting this building opened up in general, he’s mostly looking forward to putting it to actual use this Friday. He’s excited that his hip-hop class will be the first one to use the new building.

“How are you not dying with all this primer and paint fumes?” Yoongi asks, tapping on the studio door. That means it’s lunchtime. “You need to go out and get some fresh air.”

Hoseok drops the paint roller onto the tray, and he rushes up to his husband. “It’s better than being out there with all the sawdust.” Hoseok assures him, pointing to the rest of the building that’s still being cleaned up and ready to be painted. “I’d die if I had to breathe that stuff in.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes, and he plants a kiss on Hoseok’s cheek. “If you were working with the construction workers,” Yoongi says, “You’d be wearing a mask and not breathing anything in.”

Hoseok grabs onto Yoongi’s elbow, and he drags the elder out of the studio. It is easier to breathe out where he’s not trapped between four walls and a ridiculous amount of paint fumes, and it’s only then that he realizes how lightheaded he was starting to feel after being in that room for a couple of hours. “Are we going out for lunch?” Hoseok asks.

Yoongi nods. “I thought about bringing something for us to eat here, but then I decided that getting you out of this building for a bit would probably be better.” He tells Hoseok. “Seems like I made the right decision.”

“You did.” Hoseok agrees. “But don’t you think it’s coming along nicely? It looks totally different from what it did when you bought it.”

Yoongi kisses Hoseok once again, this time on the corner of his jaw. “It wouldn’t be this far already if you didn’t help out.” Yoongi says. “You put a lot into this place. You should feel proud.”

And then Hoseok gets it. He gets why Yoongi bought him a rundown old building instead of buying something that was ready to be used. Yoongi could have easily afforded a small, ready for use building, but he got this rundown one for Hoseok. And now it makes sense. He wanted Hoseok to have some part in opening the place up, and this was the best way he could do that. Honestly, Yoongi is really low-key, a subtle romantic, and that’s one of Hoseok’s favorite things about him.

“We put a lot into this place.” Hoseok correct him.

Jungkook’s POV

        It’s rather unfortunate that the day went by too fast, and Jungkook now finds himself at the airport with Jihoon, not-so-ready to send him off. He had done pretty well keeping himself together today, but he’s not sure if he can keep that up anymore. It’s hard enough to hold the tears back as he grabs Jihoon’s bags from the trunk of the car. Suddenly it all feels to real, and Jungkook hadn’t prepared himself for that. The real feeling.

Jungkook holds onto Jihoon’s hand as they walk into the airport together so that Jihoon can check in and go get on his flight. Jihoon cried the first time Jungkook left to go on a trip for dance, but he’s not crying now. For that, Jungkook is thankful. He doesn’t want to see Jihoon cry.

Once they’re inside of the building, Jihoon latches onto Jungkook, holding the younger in a tight hug. It’s comforting in some way to know that, while this is something that Jihoon really wants to do, leaving Jungkook is still hard for him. Maybe it’s selfish for Jungkook to think that, but he takes comfort in knowing that Jihoon isn’t excited to be leaving his fiancé behind.

“I’m going to miss you, Hyung.” Jungkook says, squeezing Jihoon back. Tears fall from his eyes, but he doesn’t break down quite yet. He’s trying his best to remain strong.

“You know, I don’t have to do this.” Jihoon says, and it almost sounds like he’s regretting his decision of even having come this far. “I can just stay home with you, and we can continue on like normal.”

Jungkook knows that he’s probably trying to get Jungkook to ask him to stay, but Jungkook can’t do that. He knows that Jihoon might be scared to go to a different country. He might be scared to leave Jungkook behind. Jungkook knows that, but he also knows that Jihoon will regret not going if he changes his mind now.

“You do have to do this.” Jungkook assures him. “I don’t want to hold you back, and you can always come home if you decide you don’t like it.”

Jihoon pulls away, and he looks over to the check in. “I should probably go now.” He says, not looking at Jungkook. “Just…take care of yourself. Make sure you get some sleep, don’t overwork yourself, and please don’t skip any meals. I’m going to message you all the time to make sure you’re eating.”

Jungkook laughs, pressing a kiss to Jihoon’s forehead. “I’ll be fine, Hyung. You don’t have to worry so much.” He says. “You make sure you call me when your flight lands, and keep in touch every chance you get.”

Jihoon nods. “I promise to call you.” He says. “That’s something I can definitely do.”

After one more hug and one more kiss, Jungkook watches Jihoon walk up to wait for his turn to check in. Jihoon doesn’t look back, not even when he’s just standing there waiting. Jungkook turns around to leave, and he almost makes it out of the building before a weight collides against him from behind, arms wrapping around his body.

“Don’t get used to me being gone.” Jihoon begs, and Jungkook can hear the tears in his voice this time. “I don’t want it to be awkward when I come back.”

Jungkook pries Jihoon’s arms from around him, and he turns around to give Jihoon one more proper hug. “Hyung, I’ll be counting the days until you come home again.” Jungkook assures him, pressing a kiss to his ear. “It’ll be awkward for me until then.”

“I really should get going,” Jihoon says, wiping his tears away. “I’ll call you as soon as I land, okay?”

This time when Jihoon leaves, he successfully checks in and disappears from Jungkook’s vision. Jungkook only hopes that he’ll be seeing Jihoon again soon.