pairing: BaekChen
length: 2085 words

“Hey Jongdae. How’ve you been? Sorry for not coming sooner.

“I’ve been really busy lately with my new internship at the law firm I told you I was interviewing for last time. It’s been a lot of difficult busy work since most of the employees are taking their short summer vacations right now. The firm is really understaffed right now, so the interns have been picking up a lot of extra work to keep everything running smoothly. I haven’t been put on any specific cases yet. So far, I’ve just been filing past cases and finding any important reports that the prosecutors need for their trials. I’m learning a lot just by reading through the papers as I sort them.

“Mom’s been doing alright. The family restaurant has gotten more popular lately since an idol group was eating there one night and fans took photos of the place. I don’t really remember which idol group it was, but it was one of those boy groups with a bunch of members. I don’t know how these fangirls manage to remember all of their names and faces. It seems like a lot of work to me. But then again, you know I’ve always been horrible at facial recognition. Remember when I used to mix up Sehun and Jongin with each other? They never let me forget it, even to this day.

“Dad tries to come home any chance he gets, but it’s still rare for him to make it back for family celebrations. I don’t blame him for not being here though. That’s unfair to him. He’s doing his best as a government ambassador and I can’t fault him for making his job one of his top priorities, especially since we’re all grown up now. I miss him a lot still, but it’s not like I haven’t been used to his absence for years now. And once I become a full-fledged lawyer, I’ll probably end up being just as busy as he is with my own job.

“I guess I should talk about how the boys are doing, right? Jongin is a reporter for Dispatch now. Crazy, isn't it? He doesn’t love it, but he doesn’t hate it either. He just complains a lot about having to stalk celebrities at ungodly hours. He doesn’t really care about their lives, but he needs to make a living for himself somehow. So Jongin does it and he’s apparently pretty good at it. He won’t tell me which exclusive reports he contributed to, but I don’t think I’d really know the idols he’s written about anyway since I know next to nothing about the entertainment world.

“Zitao moved to Los Angeles to be a stunt double. He loves being in Hollywood and meeting all of these Western celebrities. Apparently, he even got to sit next to Tom Hanks at a film premiere. He told us he almost started crying because it was so surreal. That kid always was a crybaby. I can’t believe Zitao has come so far in such a short time. Yifan and I told him to make sure he keeps away from any scandals, especially since his career is just starting. We know he won’t actively do anything dumb, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, right?

“Speaking of Yifan, he’s become a part-time veterinarian at the clinic near the ice cream shop we always hang out at. You know the one I’m talking about. So whenever we’re nearby and he has some time off, we go get a cone and just catch up on whatever’s been happening lately. Yifan’s collection of strays has gotten even bigger if you can believe it. And he’s got a bunch of random animals that he temporarily houses for people who don’t want to leave their animals in a cage at the clinic, since the head vet really trusts him. Yifan has basically turned his house into an animal sanctuary.

“Sehun has been going from one job to another. He’s still not sure what he wants to do in life. Lately, he’s been doing nighttime takeout deliveries for your favorite chicken store. He's become nocturnal because of this new job, but he doesn’t mind since according to him, nightlife is a lot more interesting. It’s a good thing Sehun is still young and has time for these kinds of experiences. And he knows he can come to us if he ever needs help finding a new job.

“Kyungsoo’s been holed up at home or in the library, studying as much as he can. He wants to graduate medical school early, so any chance he gets, he’s reading his textbooks and taking notes. Mom’s been trying to get him to just study at the restaurant, so he’ll have easy access to food and he won’t forget to eat. She always worries about how it seems like he’s getting even smaller than he already is. But Kyungsoo’s right when he says that the restaurant is too noisy. Even so, he always stops by on his way home from the library, so Mom makes sure she has a fresh meal waiting for him when he comes over.

“Minseok got his PhD last year and he’s been doing research on brain cancer. We always joke around that he’ll be the next savior of the world if he finds the cure. But now, he’s even more introverted than he was before, since apparently, none of the people in his lab talk to each other. It makes me so sad, because Minseok is so sweet and fun to talk to. I hate seeing him so tired and withdrawn whenever he hangs out with us. We’re planning a mini-vacation for him during his birthday weekend, but I’m not sure where we should go. I’ll probably ask Minseok when I see him next week, just to get an idea.

“Chanyeol’s been having a lot of fun being the new high school boys’ basketball coach. The kids treat him like he’s one of them and they’ve been winning all of their games so far. Chanyeol says that they’re definitely going to make it to the regional championships. And if they can, they’re going to try for nationals. He was so bummed out when he injured his shoulder two years ago and had to stop playing professionally. So I’m really happy that he’s loving what he’s doing now.

“Oh yeah, Junmyeon got a position at Google's office in Seoul as a coder and interface designer. We visited his workplace and it’s amazing. Google really does give a lot of perks to the employees. And he gets free flights to the other Google branches. He’s been to San Francisco, New York, and Tokyo so far. Junmyeon coordinated his trip to San Francisco with Zitao, who was there for a shoot, and they hung out together. Stupid Zitao shoved it in our faces, saying we were boring for staying here in Korea, but not all of us are rolling in money.

“And Lu Han is starting his banking career now. He’s actually a bank sales consultant, so he helps people manage their accounts instead of dealing with the actual money. I’ll admit that I was really worried for him at first. You always hear about robbers breaking into banks and targeting the employees, so I’m really glad he’s got a more corporate position and has his own office that’s away from the main room. Call me selfish, but I just want Lu Han to be safe.”

There was a slight pause.

“I guess you’re waiting for me to talk about Yixing, right? He’s doing well. He’s still bartending at our favorite club. It was supposed to be a temporary job, but the manager really likes him and kept badgering him to stay. So he did. He’s slated to become an assistant manager next year, but Yixing isn’t sure if he wants to shoulder more responsibilities. I keep telling him that he needs to do something, but he keeps avoiding the subject.

“He hasn’t written a single page of that novel he drafted years ago. Remember the one that you made a storyboard for after Yixing begged you for it? We’ve got all of the illustrations you made for it in a box. Yixing hates it when I look at them, but I can’t help it. Every time I glance at them, I find something new that I never noticed before. I wish the world could see them, but since Yixing doesn’t seem to want to work on the novel any time soon, I guess we’ll just have to wait until he decides to pick up his pen again. I’ll keep pestering him for you. Don’t worry about him getting annoyed with me. I know the limit.

“Anyway, you know the real reason I’m here.”

A large bouquet of white carnations and lilacs was carefully set on the ground.

“I can’t believe it’s been five years. I don’t know how time has managed to fly by this fast. I guess it’s true what they say: the older you get, the quicker life seems. I kind of wish things would just slow down for a moment. Even though I want to get my JD as soon as possible, it just seems weird that we’re going to be entering our thirties really soon. In fact, Minseok, Lu Han, and Yifan are all turning thirty next year. Honestly, it’s mind-blowing that we’re all in our mid- to late-twenties. It seems like just yesterday when you, Chanyeol, and I finally graduated college.

“I still remember seeing the other nine boys in the stands, screaming for us when our names were called. Everyone around them hated how obnoxious they were. The blown-up pictures of our heads that the boys brought to graduation are at Chanyeol’s house now. Mom found Yixing crying over them one night, so she made me give them to Chanyeol. I could’ve hidden them somewhere in my room, but Yixing knows all of my hiding spots so he’d probably find them on accident eventually. I’ll get them back later. I know Chanyeol won’t ruin them or anything, but I feel better when I have them with me.

“Do you want anything special for your birthday? I don’t have much money right now, since temporary interns don’t get paid that much. But once I get elevated to permanent intern status, I’ll be earning more. I’m just one semester away from finishing law school, so hopefully I can get promoted to a practicing lawyer once I officially get my JD. Then I’ll have a steady income and Mom can hire more part-timers to help out at the restaurant. So far, we’ve only got Mom’s friend’s daughter, Sojung, and her two friends, Ashley and Joomi, helping out. Mom wants to expand and renovate the restaurant, but it probably won’t happen until I get my degree.

“Sorry for getting side-tracked. But yeah, I’m not sure what you want for your birthday. I was thinking of getting you a new art tablet, but then I realized how impractical that is. I don’t know. Well, I could get you those organic, biodegradable plant-based paints you were telling me about before. I actually found a really nice set when I was running errands for Mom, but I didn’t buy it yet. Luckily, I still have time before I need to get you anything, so I’ll keep thinking.”

Silence permeated the atmosphere as teardrops splashed onto the granite stone.

“I haven’t forgotten my promise. No matter how long it takes, no matter how many nights I go without sleep, no matter if anyone else thinks I’m crazy for continuing this five-year-long case, I will find him. I will find him and I will throw everything I have into properly prosecuting him. I will not let him get away with a lenient sentence. I will not give him even one chance to plead innocent. I am going to let the judge and jury know every single detail, so that there’s no doubt in their minds whatsoever that he is guilty. And I will make sure he spends the rest of his life in jail, because he deserves it. He deserves it for taking you away from me, Yixing, and the other boys. He deserves it for taking you away from your mother and father. He deserves it for being a horrible human being.”

Arms clasped around the stone.

“Jongdae, I miss you.”

And Baekhyun broke down, falling to his knees as he openly wept.

♈♈♈