Waking up with another person next to him was the last thing Jaebum had expected from coming back to his hometown. Especially that person was the one and only Choi Youngjae. How Youngjae ended up sleeping peacefully in his arms like this, he did not know. One thing he did know was that this was a pleasant surprise. But images of last night flashed across his mind in an instant. Jaebum stared at Youngjae’s face, admiring the soft features that looked so graceful in his eyes. Can this moment last forever? Can they go back to their teen days?

Just his wistful thinking.

Used to waking up at exactly at eight o’clock every morning for work, Youngjae’s eyes fluttered open slowly. The first thing he saw was the last thing he expected to ever see. And… Youngjae screamed.

“Wait!” Jaebum quickly covered the younger’s mouth with his hand. The young master muffled painfully under the restrain like something bad was going to happen to him. The idol rolled his eyes and calmly said, “If I let go, can you stop?”

Youngjae nodded as fast as he blinked. Jaebum let go and sighed. There was no reason for any panic. It’s not like Jaebum was a bad guy. Though, Youngjae still sat up in shock and whipped his head back at the man laying next to him. “Why am I here?”

“Are you asking me?” The idol scoffed, “You’re the one who climbed in here.”

“No, I didn’t-” Youngjae looked around. This was his own room. The room that he had already lent to Jaebum for the stay. “Wha- How-”

Jaebum shrugged and proceeded to get out of bed, only to abruptly stop himself from making any movements. He forgot that he sleeps with no clothes on. Awkwardly pulling the blanket up to his chin, Jaebum cleared his throat rather loudly. Youngjae turned in question. “Can I have some privacy, Young Master Choi?”

The young master had a little second of delay before nodding his head and quickly exiting the bedroom. Quietly closing the door behind him, Youngjae still hung up on what had happened and how did he ended up in-

His eyes widened as memories from last night rolled back through his brain like a horror film. At this point, Youngjae might as well bash his head into this wall. Embarrassment would be a horrible understatement for what he was feeling. Holding in his self-disappointment, the young master made his walk of shame to the room he was supposed to be in. After he cleaned himself up, Youngjae headed downstairs for breakfast. The maids were already up and waking the entire house to greet the morning. The young master greeted everyone with a strained smile, feeling bad inside for the mess he had caused last night. Though, no matter what, the maids wore gentle expressions. None complained because they were happy to serve a kind young master rather than that tyrant of a madam they had to deal with.

“How was your sleep, Young Master?” Nami asked as she steered one of the new maids to set the plate in front of Young Master Choi.

Youngjae exhaled loudly and shook his head, “Don’t remind me about it.”

“Oh, his sleep was really good.”

Everyone turned their attention towards the staircase. How can they forget that they’re serving two very handsome young masters now? The younger maids immediately blushed at the radiance the idol gave off with just a simple dress code and unstyled hair. Even the ones who didn't know how famous Im Jaebum is still dropped at the charisma oozing out of the soles of his feet. Jaebum settled across Youngjae with a teasing smile. “Right, Youngjae-ssi?”

“Thought I could have some peace this morning,” Youngjae rolled his eyes and returned his precious attention to his plate. It’s a shame that he couldn’t deny hospitality to Jaebum. His mother clearly hates Jaebum, so why…

“What will you be doing today?” The idol stared right into the young master’s eyes.

“Don’t you have schedules today?”

“I’ve cancelled them.”

“Weren’t you here for work?”

“I am, but it isn’t very important. I can say that I just got here and still feeling a bit jet lagged,” Jaebum shrugged, taking his job very lightly.

Youngjae scoffed, “The flight was literally two hours.”

“So what are you doing today?”

The gears in Youngjae’s brain started turning furiously. What does he want? Was last night not enough jokes? The young master really didn’t plan anything today. Maybe more work and reading a couple of books. All the usual quiet things he happened to enjoy. But if he said that, wouldn’t that mean Jaebum would try to invade the comfort of his library and bother him like… Like last night…? What could be something that the idol would hate to do…

And that was when it clicked.

The young master finished his plate and waved for the nearest maid to clear his side of the table. A victorious smile danced prettily on his lips. “Nami-ahjumma, didn’t you say you needed groceries?”

“Ah… Yes, Young Master. I was about to head out-”

“I’ll do it for you.”

“-with a couple of- EXCUSE ME?!” Nami almost screeched in surprise. Did she or did she not hear that correctly?

“Just give me the list,” Young Master Choi looked up at the head maid with sparkles in his eyes.

Nami shook her head at the speed of a racing car. “No, sir! I cannot let you dirty your hands! The market is very unsanitized!”

“Ahjumma~ I’m a grown man. I can do it. I run my own groceries all the time in Seoul.”

“Here is different from the big city, Young Master.”

“I’ll still go anyways, because I said so.” Youngjae hated using his authority, but this situation called for it. He had to make his plan come through.

The maids passed glances at each other. This was absurd. Nami was against seeing her young master stumbling into hardships, however, since when was she ever able to refuse the little boy in her eyes. “So be it. I’ll give you the list. But please, I beg you, please, be careful.”

“Thank you,” Youngjae knew how hard it was for Nami to finally agree, and he felt really bad for being such a difficult person. The young master masked his discomfort and turned to face the idol, who had just finished up, with determination in his eyes. Jaebum probably backed out on this. “I’m going to do some gro-”

“I’ll accompany you,” Jaebum answered Youngjae’s confidence with a god-tier smirk of a playful veteran idol. He winked at Nami and the maids, “Don’t worry. Precious Young Master Choi won’t get lost with me around.”

In a span of three seconds, everyone knew the reason why the young master was so persistent. They tried to suppress their giggles. The young master really thought he could scare Im Jaebum. Madam Choi didn’t call Jaebum a “hoodlum” for nothing.

Nami felt a lot more at ease. This could be a great opportunity.

<||><||><||><||><||>

The head maid was right. Here was different from the big city. Youngjae didn’t realize how unclean and cluttered this open market was. At first, the vegetables were taken care of nicely since that section of the market was at the entrance. And the deeper he went into the market, the dirtier it became. Youngjae almost vomited from the smell and the insides of his stomach felt exhausted from the unpleasant visuals. Part of him was ashamed of the way he was reacting. Youngjae had thought he wasn’t such a pretentious young master like every one of his mother’s “friends” commented, but now, in this market, he really was a spoiled young master who never had to dirty his hands for anything.

“Three salmons, please,” Jaebum casually told the stall owner, “Can I have the ones in the back right there? Yes. That one and those two over there. Thank you. Huh? What was that? Oh. Gutted and descaled. Thank you. How much?”

Youngjae stood there in defeat. The entire time, it was Jaebum who opened his mouth and bought everything. All Youngjae did was pay. Even through a thick scarf and sunglasses, Jaebum managed to sound so friendly towards the sellers. The idol even bargained a while back, to which Youngjae broke it off quickly and paid the original price. Jaebum then scolded him, saying that they were ripping him off. Youngjae just lowered his head and sighed, not knowing what to do. As a lawyer, he should be able to tell if he was being lied to. But then again, it wasn’t like Youngjae didn’t have money to pay whatever prices.

After they paid for the salmon, Jaebum tried to fix his scarf that was slipping from his face. The whole disguise provided little to no air, but he couldn’t risk getting caught. Got an earful from Youngmi an hour ago for slacking off. Jaebum would hate to hear another earful. Fixing his scarf with his free hand while the other one carried the basket, the idol glanced back at the young master. It seemed so funny to Jaebum. Youngjae was still his lovely innocent young master.

“Let me carry that,” Youngjae reached over to grab the basket from Jaebum’s hand.

“No,” Jaebum moved the basket out of the way, “I got it.”

Youngjae dropped his hand and sighed. He looked up at Jaebum and decided he could at least do something to help. Without warning, Youngjae reached out and fixed Jaebum’s scarf. Surprisingly for the young master, Jaebum just froze in place. There was one thing Youngjae knew he was good at. He carefully rewrapped the scarf around Jaebum’s neck and mouth. The cold weather made the idol’s cheeks a bit red, Youngjae noticed as he tucked the ends neatly in place. “I’m sorry I didn’t help much.”

“Thank you,” Jaebum said, his soft voice barely masking the tremble of his own breathing. “You’ve done enough, Youngjae.”

Suddenly, the market stopped feeling bustling. The awful odor wore off a long time ago. The visuals became a blur. The winter wind never felt so warm. Youngjae stared at the ground to hide a tiny smile. For some reason, Jaebum’s voice felt like a thousand lullabies luring Youngjae into a comfortable slumber. Somehow, Youngjae forgot what the world felt like. Because in his eyes, in this moment, he had been enchanted by a familiar feeling he thought he never harbored in his heart.

A very gentle silence set in between them for the rest of the grocery run. They were on their way back to the mansion when an ice cream stand took away the young master’s attention. Jaebum looked over in the direction of the ice cream stand and his heart immediately sank. That bench was still there. The exact spot.

Youngjae cleared his throat, “I know it’s cold, but I’ve been craving this for the longest time. You want some?”

“I…” Before Jaebum could answer, Youngjae already flown over across the street. Jaebum hurried after as his nightmares flashed in front of his eyes. “Can you PLEASE look both ways before you cross the damn street?!”

“What are you on about? There’s nobody here,” the young master ignored the shaky tone of the idol’s voice. “Hello, can I have a bowl of cookies n’ cream, please? And… What did you say you want again? My treat.”

“I never said what I wanted,” Jaebum looked at Youngjae. Thank God he had on his disguise, because the look he has on right now would scare Youngjae away. “I’ll have the same, please.”

Few minutes later, Youngjae got two bowls in his hands. “Wow. There’s only one bench here.” The young master shrugged and sat down. He gestured for Jaebum to come over and put the groceries on the floor to the side. When Jaebum settled down, Youngjae handed him one bowl with an excited smile.

“You’ve never been in this part of town?” Jaebum asked. Part of him still hoped for Youngjae to remember at least something they shared together. Like a meaningful place like here, on this bench.

“No. After my accident, Mother never let me outside of the house except for school.” A bitter smile appeared on the young master’s lips. “All I knew about this town was my house. Nowhere else. Mother didn’t tell me anything else. I tried to ask Nami-ahjumma, but when I realized how much trouble I’d caused for her, I stopped asking.”

“Is that so…”

“What about you? Jaebum-ssi, you seemed to be quite familiar with this town.”

Sooner or later, the lawyer would pry information from their client. Jaebum took a spoonful of ice cream to his lips. Ice cream tastes the best during cold weather. “It’s my hometown.”

“Home… Hometown? You lived here?” Youngjae tried to deny the surge of feelings boiling inside his heart. Those memories he remembered last night… That name he remembered… It can’t be… It can’t really be who his mind and heart couldn’t bear to forget.

Jaebum threw his bowl in the trash and gathered the groceries. “Let’s head back before lunchtime is over.”

“Wai-” Youngjae felt so desperate.

“Forget it,” Jaebum said, loud and clear. “It’s not worth it.”

“L-last night! In the library, you-”

“I said forget it.”

“But-”

“Choi Youngjae,” Jaebum said, turning to face the man he gave his entire universe to with a smile filled with sorrow and immense control. “I’ve forgotten it. You should, too.”

Those words hurt more than anything. Why would he say something like that? How could he say that without any consideration? Did Youngjae ask for all this? Asked for that unexplained kiss? Asked for the confusion? The pain? How could Jaebum be so unfair?

“No!” Tears of anger mixed with something stronger awaken Youngjae’s fragile heart. “Why did you kiss me?! Why did you do it? If there was nothing behind it, then WHY DID YOU DO IT? You go ahead and do things your way and let me handle all your consequences. It’s that how it is? Are you running away from this? Why can’t you…”

“Youngjae-”

“Why can’t you just tell me what’s going on with m-me?”

“Youngjae-ah, calm down-”

“Wh-why is it so difficult w-with you…” Youngjae’s breathing heightened dramatically as he dropped to his knees. His head hurt so bad. So bad he wanted to dig his hand inside and rip his brain out. Everything around him lost focus, turned blurry and monochromatic. Youngjae wanted to scream, but his throat dried up in scorching pain.

Jaebum dropped everything and ran to Youngjae’s side. “Hey, Youngjae, calm down. I’m here. It’s okay.”

“I… I… Don’t touch me!” Youngjae shoved Jaebum aside as his anger grew more and more violent. His eyes glanced at the fallen scarf and sunglasses in disgust. Half of him was concerned while the other half wanted to let the world witness what kind of person this so-called respectful veteran idol was.

But Jaebum’s persistence never dies down when it comes to his love. “I’m calling your driver.”

“You d-don’t ing care about me! Stop acting like you do!”

Wrapping his arms around Youngjae’s trembling body, Jaebum hugged him tight. His heart clenched at the sight of the love of his life writhing in pain. He caused this. “I do. Stop it. Stop this. Let me help you.”

“NO! Let me go!”

“Youngjae, listen to me!”

“I said-”

And their lips met again. This time longer than last night.

Youngjae thought his anger was enough for him to resist. But the moment Jaebum’s lips met his, he could no longer deny the beating of his own heart in yearning for the other’s. He could see it. Youngjae could see fragments of his missing memories floating around the soft features of Jaebum’s face. He could see and hear his own voice calling out to someone. Calling out… Calling… Out…

His eyes closed and his mind released the endurance deep within him. He let himself loose. Let himself fall deeper into the embrace of this man he thought he despised. This man who he thought was just another person passing by his mundane life. But who knew he would be so caught up with this man. So caught up until his soul couldn’t take it anymore. Yet he still didn’t know the definition of all this chaos. He just knew, for some reason, that it was okay to be vulnerable in front of this person.

Because with Jaebum here, Youngjae knew he would be safe.