As soon as Jinyoung got home he sat down and signed all of the divorce papers, no guilt.  The past was in the past and this was just an obstacle in the way of him moving forward.

Thinking of his past only made him think of other things he should’ve dealt with a long time ago, things he should’ve put to rest while he had the chance.

He knew exactly where it was to this day, buried deep inside one of the boxes he never unpacked after he abruptly had to move out of Jaebum’s place.

Jinyoung got up and started fishing through the box; all sorts of memories from his past lay inside.  His first acting script, an engagement ring he never got to give away, a stack of college texts he could never sell, and at the very bottom, a very special copy of Lord of the Flies, still in pristine condition.

If Jinyoung was going to truly leave the past behind him, this was the one thing that was holding him back.

Jinyoung knew he had no right to speak to Mark after what happened, but even after he got married and adopted Yugyeom there were still those fleeting memories of Mark that preyed on him right before he went to bed, seeping into his dreams. 

He knew where Mark was now; he had been keeping tabs on him (in hopefully not a stalker-ish way- he just wanted to make sure he was living well) ever since they parted way for the last time.  Mark was doing exactly what he wanted to do.

Jinyoung held the book in hand as he walked into the American HQ for Amnesty International, hoping after all these years Mark wouldn’t be upset.  It was so long, would he even remember him?  Would Jinyoung be a distant unimportant memory by this point?  That scared him.

Luckily, as soon as Mark saw him, his eyes shot open and he burst into laughter.  “Jinyoung?” 

His voice was the same, exactly the same.

“Mark… funny meeting you here.”

“Still living in the same apartment?”  Jinyoung asked as they walked to Mark’s office together.

“Nope, I moved to Brooklyn.”

Mark’s hair was dark now, but it wasn’t quite black, perhaps blue-black?  It was gorgeous.  “Still buying overpriced ice cream?”

“As much as I can get.”

Jinyoung took a seat across from Mark as they arrived.  “Dating?”

“Not right now, you?”

“Divorced.”

“Oh… that’s sad, I guess.”

“You guess?”  Jinyoung almost laughed. 

“You always had those rings; I knew you were rushing things.”

“What about Brian?”

This time, Mark really laughed.  “No, no, we’ve been over for a while.  Brian… there was always something missing with Brian.  It was never quite… right.” 

They both stared at each other awkwardly, not knowing where to go from here. 

“Well, it was nice seeing you.”  Mark spoke up.

“I have something for you.”  Jinyoung said as he reached into his bag and pulled out the book.

“Oh, what’s this?”  Mark took the book in his hands, his curious smile fading as soon as he saw the title.  He placed the book on the desk and flipped open the cover, his eyes shooting wide open as he caught a glimpse of the familiar dedication. 

Jinyoung saw Mark crumble before him, his nose scrunching as he tried to hold back his sniffles.

“Thank you so much,”  Mark said in a strained voice, tears ready to fall.  “How did you find this… where did you find it?!”

“That’s the difficult part to explain,” Jinyoung swallowed hard, his palms were sweating to the point they were noticeably wet.  “This is going to sound bad… I’ve had it for a while.”

“How long?”

“Y-years.”  Jinyoung stuttered.  “I meant to give it to you, I wanted to give it to you… but I couldn’t, and I don’t know why.”

Mark just stared at him, his tears finally betraying him and falling down his face.

“I really tried one time I... you were gone and-“ Seeing Mark like this broke Jinyoung’s heart.  “There’s no excuse, I’m so sorry. “

Mark just nodded his head in disappointment and held the book close to his chest.  “I-I think you should go.”

“Mark…”

“I think you should go.”  Mark said more firmly. 

Jinyoung couldn’t say anything more, so he left.

“You never gave it to him?!”

Jinyoung didn’t like being reprimanded by a ten-year-old; but he deserved it.  “I-“

“It was from his dad!”  Yugyeom was practically yelling at him. 

“I know, I know…”

“Why did you even keep the book if you were never going to give it to him?”

“Why are you so concerned about all of this anyway?

Jinyoung spoke too harshly, making Yugyeom go quiet.  “I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy.”

“Daddy, trust me, you’re not happy.”

Jinyoung felt like he was suddenly facing a truth that not even he could plan for.

Sometimes, the best things in life come to you strictly by chance, and it’s up to you if you want to take the same path you’ve been going on, or make a U-turn and chase after something you couldn’t have predicted, for better or for worse.

“Yugyeom, put your coat on.”

“Hello?”  Mark’s voice scared him- even though that should’ve been the only thing he could’ve expected to hear after ringing Mark’s intercom in the middle of the night.

“It’s me, Jinyoung.”  Silence.  “Mark?”

“W-what are you doing here?”  Mark’s voice came out in a whisper.

“Uhh…”

“Come on, tell him!”  Yugyeom shouted from next to him.

“Who’s that?” 

“That… would be my son... Yugyeom.”

“Your son?  You brought your son?!  Isn’t that… what are we supposed to do now?!”  Mark sounded angry.

“Uh, you could let us in.”  Jinyoung tried.

Silence.

“I… don’t think he’s going to let us in.”  Jinyoung sighed.

“I think you’re wrong.”  Yugyeom assured him.

“Come on, let’s just go. This was a stupid plan…”  Jinyoung tried to pull Yugyeom away but he wouldn’t budge.

“Just a little bit longer, he’s going to let us in!”

“Okay, here’s the deal, I’m going to count to thirty and if he doesn’t let us in we’re going to go home and never talk about this again, deal?”

“Deal.”

Slowly, they started counting together from one.

They reached ten and Mark didn’t open the door.

“If he lets us in, tell him the story just like how you told me!  Then he’ll know!”

Twenty, no sign of Mark.

“He’ll understand if you tell him, please…”

Twenty-five, nothing.

“Twenty-nine.”  Yugyeom said anxiously.

“Twenty-nine and a quarter.”  Jinyoung followed.

“Twenty-nine… and a half?”

“Twenty-nine and three quarters…”

“What comes after that?”  Yugyeom looked so crushed.

“Time to go.”  Jinyoung took Yugyeom’s hand and lead them off the porch.

“This wasn’t what was supposed to happen!”

“I know.”

“I really thought he would’ve heard us through the intercom and run down the stairs and say-“

“What story?!”  Mark yelled as he ran after them.  “What story?”

Jinyoung stared at Mark then looked down at Yugyeom and who smiling and pushing him forward. 

Jinyoung finally realized after all these years why that stupid book was so hard to let go of.

“I kept your book,”

“Yeah?”  Mark crossed his arms, still annoyed at him.

“Because it was the only thing I had left of you.”

Jinyoung could see Mark processing his words, his face fading from anger to sadness.

“Don’t cry.”

Mark replied by stepping forward and burying his face in Jinyoung’s chest and wrapping his arms around his, not so discreetly wiping his face.  They stood there for a moment until Mark suddenly backed away.  “Oh, um, you must be Yugyeom.”

“You must be Mark.”  He could hear Yugyeom trying to hold back his giggles.  This kid knew exactly what he was doing, unbelievable.

“So… what happens now?”  Mark crouched down to ask Yugyeom directly.

“You invite us inside, and we tell you the story.” 

Mark was finally smiling, even though his eyes were still shiny with fresh tears.  “Okay.”  He nodded and he took Yugyeom by the hand and led him back up to the porch of his building.

Yugyeom walked inside first.  “It’s right up those stairs, first door on the left.”  Mark said as Yugyeom happily started going up the stairs.

As Yugyeom walked up Mark turned around to face Jinyoung,

“Wait.”  Mark instructed as Yugyeom unknowingly went ahead.

“Wh-“Jinyoung couldn’t say anything before Mark pressed his lips against him, engulfing him in a short but heated kiss.

Mark only smiled before he turned back around and walked up to Yugyeom.

Jinyoung had no idea where this path would lead, but for the first time, that thought didn’t frighten him at all.