"You applied for an emergency leave?"

Joonmyeon sighs and nods his head, but quickly answers when he realizes that Soojung can't see him. "Yeah. I, uh... need to take care about some few things." he explains.

"Is this about this friend of yours? The one in the hospital. Is he okay?" Soojung asks. Joonmyeon frowns, recalling that he had once told her about Yifan after she bumped into him during one of his hospital visits last year. What strucks him is that she guessed it right. Soojung mistook his silence as a bad sign, which isn't that far from the truth. "My god, Mr. Kim. Is he-"

"He's not dead, Ms. Jung." Joonmyeon cuts her off before speaking in a softer manner. "At least, not yet. We're pulling the plug off from him soon, and till then, I still have so many things to do for him."

Soojung is quiet for a moment and she sounds sympathetic when she speaks next. "I understand, sir. I'll inform Mr. Hong so he can talk over your works for now. I hope everything goes well for you, sir."

"Thank you, Ms. Jung."

"And I'm sorry. About your friend."

Joonmyeon swallows hard at that. His gaze drifts to the spirit sitting on his couch in the living room, and he swallows hard once more as his heart clenches in his chest. "I'm sorry, too." Joonmyeon disconnects the call and takes in a deep breath before approaching the living room to approach Yifan. The man looks up at him when Joonmyeon stands by the edge of the couch. "We're going downtown today." he informs Yifan who then frowns.

"Downtown? Where?"

"Incheon."

***

Joonmyeon chooses to drive to Incheon instead of taking the public transport. It's easier for him to talk to Yifan that way too. During that forty five minutes ride, Joonmyeon forgets for a while that Yifan is not real; they have fun singing along to Joonmyeon's playlist and reminisced their memories together from high school, college and after. They talk about Yifan's clingy ex-girlfriend and laughed about the time when Joonmyeon received a love confession from a male senior, both which happened when they were in college.

If anyone saw him from outside his car, people would think that Joonmyeon is crazy for singing, talking and laughing to himself, but luckily Joonmyeon's car windows are darkly tinted so it's hard to make out the figures inside. It was only when Yifan asked why they were headed to Incheon did Joonmyeon remind himself that Yifan is not real and that they're about to meet some people.

"We're going to this awesome café I've heard about," Joonmyeon replies. "It's really famous for it's coffee. And it's sort of like a place for people to learn how to become a barista and stuff."

"We drove all the way to Incheon for coffee? I didn't even know that you love coffee that much." Yifan retorts suspiciously.

Joonmyeon chuckles at that. "It'll be worth it, Yifan. Trust me."

Yifan says nothing more as Joonmyeon continues to drive to the address given to him by Kyungsoo. It wasn't difficult for him to find the café as told, but it is difficult for him to step out of the car and approach the building. Joonmyeon can feel Yifan's curious eyes on him so he gives the other a smile before escaping the compound of the vehicle to get inside the café.

There are lots of people in the rather large café as expected, but there are a few empty tables still so Joonmyeon didn't have to worry about getting a place to seat. But that is the least of his concern. As he walks through the door with Yifan behind him, Joonmyeon's eyes immediately got directed to a man standing behind the counter, bustling about as he prepares the orders.

Minseok's hair is no longer brown like Joonmyeon last saw him. Instead, his hair is now a shade of purple and black, and Joonmyeon is surprised to see the change. Years of not seeing the other makes Joonmyeon realize that Minseok seems to be more buffed although he is still rather petite in size. The barista outfit he is wearing looks snuggly on him and Joonmyeon can clearly see the man's biceps, evident of Minseok working out. But his face remains youthful like as if he had stopped aging years ago which sparks a small tingle of envy in Joonmyeon.

Yifan's sharp gasp tells him that he had finally spotted Minseok. Joonmyeon glances at him, trying hard not to make it too obvious, and walks away from the line at the counter to approach the barista by the pick-up counter. Minseok is wiping the counter when Joonmyeon stands in front of him, and the barista looks up before dropping the cloth he had in his hand when he saw the other.

"Joon- Joonmyeon?"

Joonmyeon smiles and nods his head. "It's been a while, Minseok."

Minseok stares at him like he finds it hard to believe that Joonmyeon is actually standing in front of him, but then his eyes begin to water before the barista leaves his post to embrace him. Joonmyeon is rather surprised to have Minseok hugging him and crying in public when he used to hate doing so, but then he thinks that the current situation is different. It's been too long since they last saw each other and clearly Minseok misses him as well.

"I can't believe it's you," Minseok sniffles as he pulls away. "God, I missed you. How are you, Joon?"

"I missed you too, Minseok." Joonmyeon replies with a smile. "I'm... doing okay. I'm glad to see you doing well too."

"Yeah, I am well. What brings you here in Incheon? You know what, screw that. Let's go sit down." Minseok says and gestures for Joonmyeon to follow him, not before informing another barista that he's taking a break.