A week had passed, but Kyungsoo had yet to hear from Jisoo. He felt disappointed. He assumed, that since she’d returned, she had also changed. In his eyes, however, she acted the exact same way as she did before. She appeared into his life, and showed him the greatest love he’d ever felt, before pulling away; stopped answering his calls, stopped replying to his texts. He never held it against her. He knew how her magnum opus was crafted—she was youth, and in youth, attachment rarely existed.

Light beamed down harshly on the city. The sky was high up, and far off, with clouds drifting slowly away into wherever. Kyungsoo was seated comfortably at a little café, which was his favorite. The smell of freshly baked bread and brewed coffee filled the air.

He had a plate of pasta in front of him. ‘I can make this myself,’ he thought, as he took a mouthful. ‘Mm, oh yeah, I can make this myself.’

“Boo!”

Kyungsoo suddenly choked. He swallowed quickly before he could regurgitate his pasta. He turned around, and was met with the lively figure of Jisoo. His expression was that of surprise, a pleasant surprise.

“I made it! Did you miss me?” she said, taking a seat beside him. She rested her head against her hand, and smiled. Kyungsoo quickly wiped the pasta sauce off of his face, thinking to himself: ‘Yes.’

“Where have you been?” he asked. She laughed.

“I know, I barely made it out alive—being alone is stressful sometimes.” she replied. Kyungsoo rose a brow in confusion.

“I had to stay in a motel somewhere in Daegu for a while.” she continued.

“Daegu? That’s far.”

“I really missed you. It feels weird not having you around. It’s like the feeling of wearing just one sock.”

He listened to her as she relayed the story of her travels around Busan and Daegu. She expressed the wonder in the world, and he saw it in her eyes—so bright and clear—and heard it in her words. It almost made him want to leave Gyeonggi. Almost.

“How’s your brother? Is he doing well?” she asked, “Tell me everything I missed, I wanna listen to it all.”

“My brother’s doing well,” he began. She cringed.

“That’s unfortunate,” she commented, “Why? What happened?”

“H-huh?” Kyungsoo stammered, confused.

“It can’t be helped, there are always people like that. I never liked that guy anyway. I’m gonna do something about it.” Kyungsoo blinked, obviously still confused, if not even more confused. His mouth was slightly agape, not knowing what to reply. He decided to dismiss her strange response. She always liked his brother, they got along so well that they might’ve been mistaken as siblings; the fighting and all. He wondered if Seungsoo had contacted her, and accidentally set her off, or vice versa.

“Anything else? No more bad news, please. Save it for when we get home.” he tried his best to form a reply, despite her lack of coherency. He thought to himself: ‘Really… Did Seungsoo do something? Wait, she’s coming back home? Already? She stuck with her promise…?! I’m so proud…! The trip really helped. I’m glad I let her go. Good one, Do Kyungsoo.’

“I met my friends again,” he said, words rolling slowly off of his tongue, “It was nice.”

“And?”

“And… I missed them. It warmed my heart to see them again. I really like having them around. I see Sehun a lot nowadays. Not in person, but on TV. He’s a popular model, maybe you’ve seen him too.”

“I miss little Sehun, although he’s not so little anymore huh?” Kyungsoo grinned, amused.

“He’s way bigger than you, way taller,” he mocked, “The name ‘Little Sehun’ is just too funny. The only thing that you have more of, that he doesn’t, is your age, Jisoo noona.”

“Aish, there you go again,” she complained, “Comparing me to that freak-of-nature who could land planes on his shoulders.” Kyungsoo laughed. “And that was the last time I saw him, too! Who knows? He could have a whole airport on there now!”

The two talked until late afternoon, exchanging stories and listening. Kyungsoo never felt so talkative in his life, but she’d missed a year’s worth of news—he’d been itching to tell her. She, in turn, took her time, and listened to him from start to finish. They laughed and everything felt nice, and warm; much like curling into a blanket in cold weather.

“It’s late,” Kyungsoo said, “Let’s go home.”

“How about I cook tonight?” Jisoo replied, shooting him a thumbs-up, “It’s the least I can do.”

“I’ll cook for you,” he said, adamantly, “It’s the least I can do.” Jisoo quickly pressed a kiss unto his cheek. He smiled bashfully.

“I learned some new dishes while I was on the road,” she said, “I’ll make a good dinner.”

Jisoo rushed out of the café. “Just wait for me at home! I’ll go get the groceries.” she said, before leaving in a rush. Kyungsoo managed to send her off with a wave, before she disappeared. He sighed.

“She’s always in a rush,” he said to himself. He left the café, and went home; sticking to the road, never dilly-dallying.