Avril Lavigne - Slipped Away

I arrived 15 minutes earlier than I planned to and there were like 2 hour and half away before Taehyun's flight. The taxi was searching for a vacant spot to drop me when I received a test from mom. The couple will be late because mom had to accompany dad to clear out some works and she made sure of it that they will make it before the alloted time. 

I paid the fee and seeing that there was too much time, I decided not too rushed too much and conservatively marched into the huge-sized lobby. I sent texts too to Ahri and Kyungsoo while stuffed my earphones and tuned in my favorite music and made my way to Starbucks to get my coffee fixed. 

The conflicting thoughts and swerving emotions that I kept since I didn't know when, seemed to faded away and I too, did got the clue that, and I knew, Taehyun will always knows how to take care of those things by himself.

My phone rang in my pocket right when the the barista called up my name to take the coffee. The cafe itself was too crowded and I was stood back from the line that I was supposed too. Flustered and not too looked that I was out at the moment, I walked first to the counter, got my coffee, said my gratitude and picked up my phone.

"Hey, where are you?" A breathless Taehyun on the line.

"Wait, hold up." My eyes roamed around for a vacant seat and merely cussed in my head for not searching for one while waiting for the coffee. Didn't thought that the cafe would be this full even on weekdays though. Spotted a single seat facing the outside, I strode and put my things on before paid the whole attention to the line I was holding at the second.

"Starbucks. No, I mean at the airport." 

The boy heaved out a relief sigh, before I interrupted him, "don't tell me you are nowhere near here." I warned jokingly. But seriously, if the boy himself was not here, or I was the earliest than him, I'll choke him with my bagpack. If possible.

"Still in the taxi..." His words trailed on before I interrupted, again.

"You just didn't-" 

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Jeez stop it. I just got back from the hospital." He replied nonchalantly although there was something in his tone. And I could heard that his voice almost cracked out but I knew he was trying to stood strong, even not in front of me. But I knew.

"I'm 5 minutes away. Wait for me. Oh and by the way, texted me the cafe's location. See you there baby." He hung up the phone, probably didn't noticed that I was wordless while talking to him just now. Shrugged it off, I sipped on my coffee and called up a barista and ordered another cup of latte and a slice of cake when the cafe already not in its chaos mode.

Few minutes later, (and that I knew for sure that won't be five minutes just like my brother said), I saw Taehyun waved doltishly from the outside and had me rolled my eyes because he just can greet me from the inside right? He half ran and briefly hugged me from the side and took a seat. I saw nothing but only a light bagpack lazily swinging on his shoulder with another not-too-compacted athletic bag. Boys actually.

Not to bringing up too sudden what was on my mind, I pinched his arm and had the older winced in pain.

"What's that for?" He rubbed the sore part, (although I knew that one wouldn't hurt that much) and took a bite of my dessert. 

"You said you were five minutes away from here." 

He snickered, "I didn't promised about that though. Blame the taxi. He drove like 100 km/h and oh my God that frustrated me." He beamed at me when he noticed another iced latte on the table and my hair playfully before had a long swig of it. 

I coughed and emptied what was in my mouth, finally got the courage, "so why were you from the hospital? I thought everything already settled down?" 

He pondered for a second and smiled with droopy eyes before answering. "Oh that. You dumb." He knocked my forehead. "When I told you everything is okay, that doesn't mean like everything is on the place." He clucked his tongue at me.

I was too slow that I didn't actually riposte the snap I received but instead flashed him my confused twinkled eyes.

"Your unni had her last check up this morning before to decide if she really has to get the last operation at the end of this month." Shattered.

I ooh-ed and thought tensely in my head as I didn't know what's the word to utter after hearing that.

"Jeez, what's with that face. She's fine. She's okay. Just go pay a visit or two since I'll be away for like half a year." He smiled, altough it looked sour in my eyes. I smiled too. 

Upon hearing that, we both continued chatting about this and that and catching up things that we missed when we were not together. we were already quietly left the cafe and walking around the airport, hand in hand. People could actually mistaken us a lover seeing this and I didn't care a bit about it and instead I liked it too much that I would want to show more of some lovey-dovey interactions that I haven't had for a long time, although it was only Taehyun. My older brother. Sounds sad.