Jeonghan continued to cry inside the cafe. He cried until there were no more tears coming out of his swollen eyes. He stood up, left the place and drove back to his apartment. The apartment he used to share with Jisoo. When he got home, he went straight to bed. He tried to close his eyes so he’d fall asleep and somehow forget the excruciating pain he was feeling. Even for just a few hours. But he couldn’t, he ended up staring at the ceiling for most of the night remembering things that just added onto his pain. He remembered the words Jisoo said to him that afternoon. He remembered the times he had spent alone in this apartment when Jisoo left for America. It pained his heart even more.

But most of all, he remembered all the memories he shared with the man he loved so much. The man he hurt so badly. The man who until today had never hurt him so badly. His bleeding heart couldn't take the ache anymore and he started crying again. He sobbed until his body finally gave in to the tiredness from crying too much.

Jisoo woke up with the sun shining brightly on his face. He slowly opened his eyes, his beautiful, long lashes fluttered as he squinted to adjust to the ray of sun attacking his vision. The first thing he did upon opening his eyes was to check the time, it was a Monday after all. Time to set aside the drama that was his life and focus on other important things like his job. He grabbed his phone from the bedside table and his body immediately rose from the bed as his wide eyes looked at the time on his phone. ‘8:06am’, it read. “Crap!” Jisoo muttered quietly to himself. He had always been a punctual person and he hated being late for work. He inwardly groaned as he must’ve forgotten to set his alarm last night after all the drama that went down.

After the talk with Jeonghan, Jisoo didn’t want to go straight home to his shared apartment with his friend so he decided to spend some time at a bar that was usually frequented by young adults like him to have a few drinks. He sat by the counter by himself and ordered his usual drink, vodka lemonade. He didn’t care if it was a ‘girly’ drink, he hated the taste of alcohol so he’d rather settle for something that tasted like a regular soft drink but with the amount of standard alcohol mixed with it. He still wanted to relax a bit. However, he ended up having way too many drinks than he originally planned and so here he was now, rushing to get ready for work whilst feeling a slight headache.

Jisoo hurriedly stood up, picked up his clothes that were laying messily on the chair near the bed and quickly put it on. He didn’t have time to look himself in the mirror as his work started at 9am and he knew there was gonna be a traffic jam as it was morning rush hour; people were on their way to work or school. He grabbed his medium sized black clutch bag and headed for the door. But before he turned the knob, he took a glance at the bed and stared for a few seconds at the sleeping figure under the covers. Right, Jisoo wasn’t in his bedroom. Instead, he was in the room of the stranger he had met at the bar the. The memories of everything that happened last night came rushing back into his mind and Jisoo’s headache got a little worse. He sighed, he didn’t want to be rude and just leave without a word so he took out a pen and paper from his bag and started writing a note.

“Hey, sorry for not waking you up but you looked so peaceful sleeping. Had to leave for work already… Thanks for last night. -Jisoo”

“Well well well, look who came to work just in time,” Hansol eyed his friend and also his boss at work. A thin teasing smile on his face while he held some documents in his hands as Jisoo power walked to his desk in his office, hoping that their president hadn’t done his rounds in greeting the employees for that morning. Ignoring the teasing he had just received from his secretary, Jisoo turned his gaze at Hansol while sitting down on his chair and asked, “Has President Park made his rounds yet?” To which Hansol shook his head no. Jisoo inwardly sighed, feeling relieved.

As the department manager of their Marketing Department, Jisoo really couldn’t afford to be late for work even if he was only 10 minutes late than his usual arrival time. He needed to set a good example to his subordinates at work. He blamed himself for not being more responsible. But deep down inside, there was a small part of him that also wanted to put the blame on Jeonghan. If it wasn’t for him and the drama that ensued yesterday, he wouldn’t have gone to the bar last night to have a few drinks to let loose even for just a bit, which essentially made him forget to set his alarm for today. But he’d rather push that thought to the very back of his mind. Because Jisoo wasn’t petty like that, he knew that his job was his own responsibility and that he shouldn’t be putting the blame on others. Even if maybe they deserved it.

“So why were you late? Did anything happen yesterday? Or should I say last night?” Hansol wiggled his eyebrows seemingly trying to imply something. “That’s none of your business, you nosy meme on two hind legs.” That was the best insult Jisoo could come up with right now. Hansol just chuckled a bit, feeling happy that Jisoo could finally make jokes now. He honestly hated seeing his friend heartbroken and miserable for weeks now. He knew and could feel that Jisoo still wasn’t 100% recovered from everything but at least he was making some progress, the younger thought.

“Oh come on Josh!” He whined to Jisoo making sure to say his English name to prove their close bond with each other even more, as everyone in the office referred to him by his Korean name. “Don’t be like that, I’m just curious as to how your love life’s going now. Remember I was the one who helped you get away for a bit when really hit the fan a couple months ago? I got you your passport and your luggage because you refused to come home and get them yourself,” Hansol reminded the older. “Do you have any idea how awkward it was to let myself into your apartment with your key and then seeing Jeonghan sitting on your couch crying his eyes out while he held a tub of ice cream staring into nothing?” Hansol added.

Of course Jisoo remembered. How could he forget? Hansol was the first one he told about what happened. He didn’t go into too much details though. He just told Hansol that he was leaving Jeonghan because Jeonghan cheated on him, although he didn’t specify who with. Hansol was the one who helped him stay sane by helping him leave for LA. Because Jisoo knew he needed to leave. He had to get away. He had to numb the pain. But right now, they had work to do. They couldn’t afford to feast on Jisoo’s failed relationship yet again, there was another time for that.

“Can we not talk about this at work? And I know you’re not really interested in my love life,” Jisoo rolled his eyes before adding, “You’re interested in my life, just admit it.” Hansol gave him a huge smile while he batted his eyelashes and his eyes glimmered. He looked like a teenaged highschool girl who was persuading her friend to kiss and tell. “That reminds me, we need to talk about how you blabbed to Seungkwan about what I’ve been doing. Your “friend” (he made the quotation mark action using his fingers) told Jeonghan about it.” Hansol’s smile fell and his eyes widened a bit before he gave Jisoo a shy apologetic smile while rubbing the nape of his neck. “Don’t worry, I’m not mad at you. He would’ve found out sooner or later anyway.” Hansol smiled at him, the relief evident on his face. “But as punishment, you can start by making a draft marketing plan for that advertisement we’re currently bidding on,” Jisoo said as he handled Hansol a thick folder of papers, giving him a smug look. “On top of that I won’t tell you about that guy I bedded last night,” he turned to Hansol and stuck his tongue out. Hansol furrowed his brows and his lips made an exaggerated pout as he turned around and walked away from Jisoo’s office while huffing to himself. “A little office gossip wouldn’t hurt,” the younger muttered to himself quietly.

Jisoo got home that night and was welcomed by Jihoon, his (and also Jeonghan’s) long-time friend from his university days who was sitting down on the couch while watching SpongeBob. The three of them met during Jisoo and Jeonghan’s second year in university while Jihoon was a freshman. They had some classes together and quickly bonded over their love for music. And they kept their close relationship (although Jihoon is closer to Jisoo than Jeonghan) with each other even after they had graduated. Jihoon found out what happened to the ex-lovers when Jisoo was already in LA. He got an overseas call from him and that’s when Jisoo explained everything to him, except he kept mum on to who the third party was of his and Jeonghan’s failed relationship.

Jihoon felt his friend’s pain even without seeing him in person. Just hearing Jisoo’s voice like that was enough for Jihoon to feel hurt for him. He would never forget the sounds of sobbing and crying of Jisoo over the phone. He remembered his words. “I loved him but I wasn’t enough for him. He promised he’d never hurt me but right now I’m in so much pain Ji. It hurts a lot. He promised and I held onto it… He never should’ve promised me. Because then maybe it wouldn’t hurt this much.” Jihoon could feel his heart sink at his friend’s words. Because he knew the feeling. Because once upon a time when Jihoon was much younger, he too was made a promise by someone he thought would never break his heart. He was familiar with this kind of pain because he knew nothing was more painful than being hurt by the person you thought would never hurt you.

When Jisoo came back from LA, he knew he couldn't go back to his and Jeonghan’s apartment. Jihoon, being his closest friend, offered to let him stay at his place for the time being. Jihoon was also the one who got Jisoo his remaining personal things from his old place. The American boy would forever be grateful to Jihoon and Hansol for being there for him when he needed his friends the most. However, he had no idea that Jihoon’s offer wasn’t just because he was being a good friend. It was also because they shared a similar story and the younger knew that Jisoo needed someone to be there for him through his dark days, a privilege he didn't have when he was going through his. But Jisoo didn’t know about that. Jihoon didn’t tell any of the friends he made after he graduated high school about the time his heart got wounded because he was young and naive to think that just love itself was enough in a relationship.

So now, Jisoo had been staying at Jihoon’s place ever since and he honestly didn’t know when he’d leave. As soon as Jisoo stepped inside the apartment, his friend got up from his seat and worked his short legs to run towards him. Jisoo should’ve been surprised by this action but he already expected this sort of reaction from his friend. “Hey Ji, what’s up?” Jisoo spoke and tried to make it as nonchalant as possible. He knew he was going to get interrogated as he spent the night somewhere else last night. Again. “Oh no, you’re not gonna get away this time. Take your shoes off and sit your down on the couch and tell me everything, you hoe.” Jisoo just shook his head slightly but he couldn’t help the smile that formed on his lips. See, just over two months ago, if any of his friends had called him a ‘hoe’, he would’ve smiled and think of it as a friendly term of endearment or as a friendly insult meant to be taken as a joke, because obviously they wouldn’t have meant it seriously. But now, whenever Jihoon would call  him a hoe, he would smile or laugh because first, he wasn’t sure anymore if he was still meant to take it as a joke or his friend lowkey thought that he was actually one and second, he really couldn’t deny that his actions during the past few weeks were, as some people would describe it, ‘very hoe-like’. He chuckled to himself. ‘Who would’ve thought I’d ever go from holy to hoe-ly.’

“Ji, there’s really nothing to say. There was nothing new. Just another one night stand,” Jisoo sighed. He wasn’t lying though, for the past weeks this had been a regular thing for him. Nothing was out of ordinary now. He worked on the weekdays and lived his usual life. But on Friday and Saturday nights, he’d go clubbing or hang out at a bar and usually before the end of the night he’d hook up with a random stranger, and then go home to Jihoon’s apartment the next morning. He usually spent Sundays at home just hanging with Jihoon (he had gone on break from going to Church because he felt guilty about his new found ‘hoe-liness’). But since yesterday was different as he had met up with Jeonghan, his normal schedule was ruined and instead of going home that night to take an early rest and get ready for another week, he went to another person’s house and spent the night there. The people he had slept with understood that their escapade would only last for the night and nothing more should be expected from that.

“I don’t care HoeShua, I need me some details. Since you wouldn’t tell me who you lost your ity to back where you were in LA, at least tell me the capades you’ve been having since you got back in Seoul. This is what friends do, we kiss and tell. Especially that this is exciting stuff for you because at least now you’re letting your freak flag fly and finding out what you like. Cause you know, you wouldn't like all kinds of position for example. I mean I remember the first time I tried the cowboy—”

“Okaayyy…” Jisoo cut off Jihoon before he could finish what he was saying. “No need to go into details about your life Ji. I’ve heard all about it, whether I wanted to or not.” Jihoon chuckled, his eyes forming into crescents and a sly smile formed on his lips. He knew he was in for another bedtime story tonight, courtesy of his friend Hong HoeShua. Jisoo took his shoes off and put his bag on the coffee table in front of the TV. He sat down on the couch and Jihoon followed.

“Uhhh okay. So I actually did go home this morning but I missed you cause you already left for work. I mean there was no way I was going to the office without taking a shower and wearing black ripped jeans and a leather jacket. That’s like practically asking my boss to fire me on the spot,” Jisoo started. “Umm yeah so I met the guy at the bar last night when he approached me at the counter and asked if he could buy me a drink, you know just the usual pick up line and stuff. And then we just started talking—” he was cut off by Jihoon mid-sentence. “Wait wait, what’s his name first?” Jihoon paused. “I’m hoping you do know his name?”

“Oh right of course,” Jisoo recalled his memories from last night before he got a bit too tipsy and remembered the name of the male stranger. “He said his name was Taehyung.”

To be continued...

~ ~ ~

AUTHOR’S NOTE: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Okay I decided for this chapter to be a little breather instead of putting another heavy drama conversation. ^~^ Hence all the puns. :P

Are you guys liking the story so far? Cause if not, I can easily just finish the story in the next chapter. XD I don’t mind, since I have a new story in mind but I don’t want to start it until I’ve finished this one or at least getting close to finishing it. I originally had planned this to be only a few chapters but ideas kept popping into my head and I just kept on writing haha. So please do let me know your thoughts. :D

Also, who here is liking/hating the idea of HoeShua? XD I personally like it, just cause you know at least for once it’s not JeongHoe, well I guess that is still debatable in this story :’).

Also, can we just talk about Jisoo’s lilac hair colour? I mean it’s like full on lavender right now but I think it’ll fade into a really beautiful light lilac after a few washes. <3

Until next time,

Adorkable Jisoo ~