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“I don’t think I can wait three years...”

Yifan felt the pasta he ate earlier drop heavily in his stomach as the lump in his throat seemed to cut off his air supply.

“....it’s asking a lot I know but after you left, I realized I don’t want to wait until you come back. I know you have the program and I have work myself but we’ve been friends for so long that I know we can work things out.” Sooyeon smiled brightly at him.

“Wait...what?” Perhaps the lack of sleep was finally catching up to him or Dr. Choi’s lack of intelligence was rubbing off on him.

“Yifan? Are you okay?”

“Yeah....uh sorry...could you repeat yourself?”

Sooyeon gave him a worried look but repeated herself. “I said I want to try...no I want us to date now.”

Yifan’s eyes widened. “So you when you said you couldn’t wait three years....?”

“I meant I don’t want to wait three years before trying to date. I really missed you these past two weeks and it made me realize that you have such a huge presence in my life and I never realized before how huge because you were always around. It took you going halfway around the world for me to realize but...Yifan, I want to now.”

“But you’ll be in Seoul and I’ll be here in New York, at least for the next three years.”

“And? It’s not like I didn’t consider that...yes we can’t go on date nights and there may be times where we don’t speak to each other just because of time differences and your work schedule, but I care for you Yifan....I-I realized...I love you....”

Yifan smiled, every apprehensive emotion from earlier gone with those three words. He moved from his seat to sit next to Sooyeon. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder he drew her close so she could rest her head on his chest. “I love you too Jung Sooyeon....I wanted to tell you before leaving but I didn’t think it was fair to burden you with my feelings. I already broke when asking you to wait but I held myself back from asking anything more.”

“Yifan...” Sooyeon pulled back to look him in the eyes. “We’ve been friends for how long? And you were keeping things from me!” She lightly elbowed him in the stomach.

Yifan laughed, hugging her to him for another moment before letting go and calling for the check. Paying for their meal, he extended a hand out. Sooyeon latched on and the two left the cafe.

“The hospital is just down the block.”

“Yeah I saw before I came into the cafe. Barely a commute for you, so lucky.”

“It is good, but bad because they know I live so close. I heard from other fellows that live in the building that they will get called in for emergencies because the department knows we live so close by.”

“Well you can’t have everything. Have you been called in yet?”

“Not yet, but don’t jinx it.”

“I won’t!” Sooyeon giggled, leaning her head on Yifan’s shoulder as they walked. “You should get in and sleep. You’ve had a long day.”

“It’s only 11pm.”

“And you have work tomorrow!”

“Well come up with me for a bit? See my apartment!”

Agreeing, Sooyeon accompanied Yifan into his building. Unlocking the front door, Yifan let her go in first forgetting he had yet to clean since he moved in.

“Wu Yifan! What is all this!?!?”

Yifan looked up from removing his shoes and watched Sooyeon pointing all over the apartment, at the dirty dishes piled in the sink, his textbooks opened all over the table and sofa and his unmade bed with the overflowing laundry hamper in the corner of the bedroom. “Sooyeon~ah, I’ve been super busy at the hospital. I cleaned when I first got here. Ask Changmin hyung! He’ll vouch for me!”

“But you only moved in two weeks ago...how is this place a complete mess already!?”

Rubbing his head tiredly, Yifan placed his bag on a chair and walked over to her. Placing his hands on her shoulders he made her face him. “It’s because I don’t have my lovely girlfriend here to make this place a home.”

Sooyeon blushed at his words, looking down at the floor in embarrassment.

“To me, this place is just an apartment to live in during my three years here. Home is back in Seoul, where you are.” Yifan removed one hand and lifted up her chin so he could see her face. “Besides you should be happy that I don’t have bugs crawling all over.”

“Oh eww..Yifan...”

Yifan chuckled. “I want to shower really quickly okay? I reek of the hospital still.”

“Go, I’ll entertain myself.”

Yifan grabbed his sweats from the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. Sooyeon made space for herself on the sofa but looking around the apartment again, couldn’t stand the sight. Taking off her jacket she placed it on the sofa with her bag and spotting the hamper, grabbed it first. First stuffing Yifan’s shirts into the small washer situated in the hall closet, she then rolled up her sleeves and picked up the random dishes sitting on the table and counter.

By the time Yifan came out of the shower 5 minutes later, Sooyeon was already rinsing the dishes and resting them on clean paper towels. “Sooyeon! What...are you doing??”

“I couldn’t help it...you honestly didn’t think bringing me here wouldn’t drive me mad? All the laundry and the dishes...have you been eating ramen all this time?!?!”

“Noo.....yes....” Yifan muttered, changing his mind when Sooyeon lifted up the garbage can that was filled with ramen packaging.

“And you have your own laundry unit in your apartment! Laundry shouldn’t be terrible for you!”

“Yeah...it’s just I wake up before the sun rises and don’t get back til close to midnight or later...I haven’t had time...Sooyeon...just stop...” He came over to the sink and rinsed off her hands, pulling her over to the bed. He sat down and pulled her down next to him. “I wanted you to come over so this place would feel a little bit better. Not so you could pick up after me and everything. You’re my best friend and now my girlfriend...not my maid.”

“I know but still...” Yifan stuck his finger in front of , silencing her.

“Jung Sooyeon, no! Listen to me!”

“Soooo bossy!! Is that how things are going to be from now on?”

“Just when you’re being stubborn.”

The two bickered back and forth for a bit longer before Yifan’s eyes started to droop. Sooyeon pushed him to sleep but he wouldn’t let go of her. To make him feel better, Sooyeon laid down next to him and patted him to sleep. “Sooyeon~ah, saranghae~” Yifan muttered sleepily just before drifting off.

“Me too...saranghae Yifan~ah.”

Because "Saranghae" just sounds nicer than "I love you"