Se Yi loved her best friends, but there are times when she just wanted to strangle them to death for always finding ways to make her suffer.

And this, was one of those times.

Lee Minhyuk, I swear to god, you better sleep with your eyes open.

She bit her lips, pacing around her studio apartment. After the call with Minhyuk, she had spaced out for who knows how long before eventually ransacking her whole apartment for her laptop. She found it half an hour later, underneath a pile of dirty laundry (she should probably do her laundry soon), and turned it on, scrolling through the files immediately soon after.

Resume. Resume. Where is it? She chanted as she scrolled through the endless files and folders on her laptop. She eventually found the said file and opened it, reviewing its contents and smiling after when she found it acceptable.

She had no choice now. Considering that Minhyuk had already gone through the trouble of possibly recommending her to the company, she might as well take the chance. She might have been MIA for a whole year, but she had enough experience and education listed on her resume. She figured it would probably be alright.

After printing the resume and all the other files she would most likely need, she printed them ("thank goodness, the printer still had ink in it"), and neatly placed them in a folder on the table. She went on to her next task, which was to find a decent outfit for her interview.

"I don't have clothes," she sighed in defeat. After a few hours of going through her closet to find something decent, she realized that she had lost quite a bit of weight since last year and that none of them fit her anymore. The blouses and pencil skirts that used to hug her figure then, looked baggy around her body now.

Sighing one last time, she glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and decided to ask for help. She grabbed her phone off her desk and scrolled through her contacts. Figuring that Hyun Ji wouldn't be able to help her this time, she opted for the only other girl she was friends with.

"Hey, Ara? Are you free?"

 

. . . . . . .

 

It had been quite a while since he last visited the company. He remembered going there when he was younger – running around with his cousin, and annoying busy employees every chance they get. He couldn't help but smile, when he recalled how both his parents, uncle and aunt got mad at the both of them for being such troublemakers.

"Excuse me?" He called the receptionist's attention, "Is Mr. Chae in his office?"

The receptionist smiled. "Yes, Sir. Do you have an appointment with him?"

He returned the smile, and shook his head. "I don't, but would it be okay if I drop by for a few minutes? I'm his cousin, Lee Minhyuk."

The receptionist looked him up and down in doubt. She was probably new to the company, the reason why she didn't know his name. "I'm sorry, but-"

"Minhyuk, is that you?" A voice from behind Minhyuk interrupted the receptionist, whose eyes widened in surprise before immediately bowing.

Minhyuk spun around, before his lips curled up into a grin. "Wonho hyung!" He ran up to him and wrapped his arms around his friend, squeezing the life out of him.

"Yah yah yah, let me go, you idiot!" Wonho laughed as he struggled to get out of his friend's death-hug. Once Minhyuk pulled away, he scanned the younger boy's face. "When did you come back?" He asked.

Minhyuk smiled, "Yesterday. I was gonna call you guys, but I kind of had company."

Wonho smirked, "Company, huh? And who's the girl?"

"Whoa, how'd you know?" Minhyuk gaped at his friend.

Wonho chuckled, "Please, it's obvious. So who is it?" He leaned closer, his eyes twinkling with mischief. Minhyuk sighed, "It's not like that. She's my best friend from high school."

"You like her?" Wonho pried, to which Minhyuk replied with a soft "no". Wonho shook his head, Liar. He wanted to say it, but judging by the look on Minhyuk's face, it must be complicated. "Did you come here for Chae?"

Minhyuk nodded his head, the smile reappearing on his lips. "Yeah, are you meeting him too?"

"Yep. Actually, all the guys are already there." Wonho said before turning to the receptionist. "Do you mind?" The receptionist nodded, and the two men headed towards the CEO's office.

 

. . . . . . .

 

The CEO's office was bustling with noise and chatter when the two men came in. I.M and Jooheon were being their usual younger selves, bickering and wrestling around with each other. Kihyun, who was most commonly referred to as the "mom" in their group, was busy nagging at the two younger men, while Shownu sat in the corner, watching the scene in amusement. And Hyungwon....

Let's just say he wasn't having the time of his life as he glared at the rest of his friends in annoyance.

"Devil CEO's about to come out, you four better take cover," Wonho smiled teasingly at Hyungwon, whose glare intensified. The look on his face, however, changes dramatically when he saw the familiar man behind Wonho.

"Minhyuk?"

At the mention of his name, Minhyuk emerged from behind Wonho and smiled at his friends, who looked beyond shocked at his sudden appearance.

Kihyun was the first to snap out of it as he rushed towards the male and smacked him on the head. "Yah, since when did you come back? You didn't even call us!"

Minhyuk chuckled nervously as he rubbed the spot Kihyun smacked. He was about to open his mouth to reply, when Wonho beat him to it. "He came yesterday, met up with a girl, and ditched his friends."

"Wait, a girl?" Jooheon pushed I.M off of him and walked towards Minhyuk. "Mind introducing us to her?" He slung an arm around the older male, who immediately slapped his arm away with a frown on his face.

"Yeah...NO. You're as much of a playboy as Wonho hyung over here."

I.M smirked, "You sound like an overprotective boyfriend, hyung."

Minhyuk narrowed his eyes at the youngest, "I do not. She's my best friend, of course I wouldn't want her to associate with playboys like you."

I.M gasped as he placed a hand on his right chest in mock hurt. Before he could retort, an irritated growl was heard from the other end of the room. Turning to the man who had just emitted the sound, they found Hyungwon standing with a scowl on his face. "Are you serious? He hasn't been here for a year and the first thing you talk about the moment he comes back is some girl?"

Minhyuk frowned after hearing his cousin refer to his best friend as "some girl". She isn't just some girl to him. She was his best friend, she was someone extremely special to him.

But at the same time, he understood. Growing up with Hyungwon, he had witnessed everything his cousin had been through. His childhood wasn't pretty, and because of it, he had grown to become who he is today. Minhyuk knew, so instead of getting upset at his cousin, he smiled. "It's been so long since I last saw you guys, wanna hang out at the usual place tonight?"

Enthusiastic replies came one by one, with the cold CEO being the last one to give in.

 

. . . . . . .

 

"So what were you doing at the company, earlier? I'm pretty sure it wasn't just to visit us," Wonho eyed Minhyuk, who was busy taking a sip of his drink. "I mean, you were wearing a suit. You hate suits."

Minhyuk shrugged, "I came for an interview."

"Interview?" It was Hyungwon's turn to ask a question. Surely, he or Kihyun should've heard about this.

Noticing the look of confusion on his cousin's face, Minhyuk smiled. "I kind of requested them not to let either of you know", he explained, referring to both Hyungwon and Kihyun.

To their utmost surprise, Hyungwon suddenly chuckled. It didn't last for more than three seconds though, but considering that that was the first time they had heard him actually emit anything close to a laugh for the last few years, they were still shocked.

"Wow," Shownu gaped at the younger male, who turned to him with a blank expression on his face. "What?"

"You laughed," Jooheon spoke, sounding completely astonished. "You never laugh," he added.

Hyungwon raised an eyebrow at his friends, finding their reaction to be stupid. "So? Am I not allowed to laugh now? I'm not a robot."

 

. . . . . . .

 

"I'm not a robot, Ara," Se Yi deadpanned at her friend.

After almost four hours of shopping for clothes, the two girls have only gone as far as buying a new blouse and pencil skirt. Se Yi was sure it was good enough, but then Ara had decided that a metallic blazer would go with her outfit perfectly and had been bugging her to buy it along with a pair of silver metallic heels.

"Oh c'mon! Don't you want to look glamorous for your first job interview after a year of being MIA??" Ara smiled angelically in an attempt to persuade Se Yi.

Se Yi sighed, "Ara, I'm going there for an interview, not a fashion show. I'm not gonna be walking on a runway, and I absolutely don't need to attract unnecessary attention. The blouse and skirt is enough."

Hearing the older girl's response, Ara huffed, "Fine."

Se Yi smiled and patted the younger girl's head. "Good. Now who wants ice cream?", she sing-sang as she linked their arms together.

Ara scoffed, "Who doesn't want ice cream?"

 

. . . . . . .

 

"Drive safe!" Se Yi bid the younger girl goodbye before making her way back to her apartment. It was a pretty quiet walk, the sound of her footsteps the only thing she could hear. When she finally arrived in front of her room, she unlocked the door and made her way inside.

"Oh my god, I'm tired!" She complained as she plopped onto the couch, after placing her shopping bags on the coffee table.

As she laid there on the couch, she couldn't help but notice how silent everything was. It was too quiet, and the quiet was somehow suffocating.

So she began to talk to herself.

"Ahh, what should I eat?"

"Should I have invited Ara out for dinner too?"

"Ugh, I'm famished!"

But none of it seemed to help. It only made everything worse.

Finally having enough of it, Se Yi stood up and decided to call it a night. I have to wake up early tomorrow anyway.

On her way back to her bedroom, she caught sight of something on the shelf. It was a picture, the last picture they had together before he...left.

Almost immediately, she felt her chest constrict in pain. Memories of the past flashed before her eyes, reminding her of the days when she — they — used to be so happy.

But he was taken away from him. And now, I can never get him back.

With a shaky sigh, she placed the frame face-down on the shelf.

 

 

---

It's been awhile~! I know I'll probably sound stupid for saying this, but OH MY GOSH, I ACTUALLY GAINED MORE SUBSCRIBERS! Lmao, I actually thought I would lose subbies after not updating for a long time, but I'm grateful for you guys staying with me! Thank you! 

I hope you liked this chapter. Feel free to comment anything you'd like. If you find errors, feel free to tell me about it too in the comments section.

Again, thank you for giving this story attention. See you in the next chapter~