It took you a good portion of the following morning for you summon the strength needed to leave the safety of your house. You only took a few steps towards Youngjae's house though before coming to an abrupt halt. You watched as he left his own house, headed to the sidewalk, and started walking away from you. Hesitating for a moment, you finally broke in to a jog and called out his name. Youngjae stopped and turned around to face you, waiting where he stood until you closed the distance.
"Hey." he greeted. "I can't really hang out right now. I already promised the guys I'd meet up with them."
"I really need to talk to you though." you told him. "About last night."
His face developed a pink tinge and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh... yeah. Just forget about that."
You furrowed your eyebrows. "But..'
"Did you talk to your mom about the job?"
"Oh, uh, no." you replied, taken aback by the sudden question. "I... I wanted to.."
"You should, soon." He smiled brightly at you. "Don't want them to offer it to anyone else."
The way he was smiling, and looking at you, wasn't what you were expecting. Especially after last night. How could he be so calm and happy now?
He took a step back and indicated with his head further down the sidewalk. "I should get going. I'll talk to you later." Then he turned and walked away.
Watching him leave caused an unsettling feeling in your stomach. You swallowed thickly, trying to keep the nausea growing inside you under control. You heartbeat sped up, and you hurried forward.
"No, wait." you said as you grabbed his arm.
Youngjae stopped and turned to look at you in surprise.
"You don't get to just walk away." You squeezed his arm tighter. "Not after what you did. How can you just.."
"I said forget it." he insisted. "Really, don't worry about it."
You shook your head. "How can I do that?? And you're telling me leave?! Just like that??"
He sighed while saying your name, but you continued before he could say anything else.
"You yelled at me before for wanting to leave, you didn't even bother to say goodbye, and now after you... you..." Flustered, you couldn't get the words out. "H-how... w-why..."
Taking a hold of your hand, he forced you to release him. Then he let you go and took a step back. "Because this is what you want, and you should do it. It's a chance to follow your dream. And you'll do great, I know you will. So yeah, leave. I want you to leave. Please. Don't throw this away. Es..."
He cut himself off as he turned away. When he faced you again, there was no mistaking the tears forming in his eyes. You stopped breathing, feeling as if the world was crumbling around you.
Youngjae stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. "Especially not for a stupid, immature, little boy." He started to walk away but suddenly stopped. "And if mom says anything, tell me and I'll talk to her." A small smile formed on his face, though it didn't exactly reach his eyes. "You know she can't say no to me." Then he left
Unable to say anything, you merely watched as he walked away. Leaving you alone on the sidewalk as tears started streaming down your face. It took everything you had to go back to your home, as if your legs didn't want to work right. Once inside, you went to go to your room but heard a noise in the kitchen. You knew what you had to do and you headed to the back of the house instead.
As soon as your mother saw you, she instantly frowned with worry. "What's wrong?"
You shook your head, unwilling to talk about the pain you felt in your chest. There was something else more important at his moment. "There's something I need to talk to you about." you informed her as your voice cracked.

A few days later, it was like déjà vu. You were leaving again and Youngjae was nowhere to be seen. You loaded your suitcase in to the car while sneaking glances over at his house. Part of you knew though that he wasn't going to come out the front door.
"Did you want to say goodbye?" your father asked.
Forcing a smile, you shook your head. "No. It's fine." Before either of your parents could protest, you climbed in to the back of the car.
You were quiet the whole ride as you stared out the window, taking in the once familiar sights. Your parents talked amongst themselves and thankfully didn't try to drag you in to the conversation. Then you were suddenly at the airport and telling them goodbye.
"Take care of yourself." Your mom gave you a tight hug and kissed your cheek. "And prepare some healthy meals too. Don't just be eating junk food."
"I promise." you replied with a chuckle.
You father gave you a hug next and said, "Call us if you need anything."
"I will." You smiled brightly at both of them for a few seconds and then grabbed your luggage.
You headed into the building and paused in order to wave back at them. Then you made your way to the departing flights area.
Suddenly your arm was grabbed and you were forced to stop walking. You whirled around and inhaled sharply.
Youngjae smiled at you. "Glad I caught you before you went through security." The smile disappeared as his expression grew more serious. "Listen, I'm sorry about last time. About not saying goodbye. That was terrible of me." He grabbed your hand and he gave you two cookies that were wrapped in plastic. "You're my best friend and..."
He kept talking but the sound of his voice grew distant as you stopped paying attention. You stared down at the cookies you were holding until your vision grew cloudy. Then you quickly threw your arms around his neck.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed in surprise before laughing. "I'll miss you too." He hugged you back for a moment and then started to push you away. "You better get going.."
"Promise me." you pleaded while interrupting him. "Promise you'll wait for me."
He tensed up and froze. "What?"
"I can't get on that plane unless you promise."
He didn't move or say anything, causing your heart to race. Finally though, his arms slipped around your waist and he held on to you tightly.
"I promise." he whispered in your ear.
Squeezing your eyes shut, you breathed in deeply through your nose, committing the scent of his cologne to your memory. Then you let go and stepped back. Without looking at him, you grabbed the handle of your luggage and walked away. You didn't turn back like you had done with your parents. If you did, you didn't know what you would do. So you wiped away your tears with the back of your hand and left.

It was a little over a year later before you returned from overseas. The airport was bustling with people walking in every direction and you eagerly searched through the crowds, expecting to see your mother's face any second. When your gaze landed on the man sitting in one of the chairs though, you froze in surprise.
Youngjae checked the time on his watch and then glanced around while fiddling with a small bouquet of flowers in his hands. He looked almost the same as when you had left and your heart fluttered in your chest.
You started walking once more, closing the distance to him. It was only a few seconds till he saw you and a bright smile formed on his face as he stood up to meet you.
"Hey." he greeted. "These.."
You didn't let him finish as you swiftly wrapped your arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He laughed as he hugged you back. "Did you miss me?" Then he release you and moved back. He held up the flowers and said, "These are for you."
You took the gift, feeling yourself blushing just a little bit. It was mostly from what you had to tell him though. "You don't have to wait anymore."
He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What?"
"I put in a transfer request." you informed him. "I'm going to be working at the office here. I'm coming home."
His face went slack as he stared at you. Your heartbeat sped up as you held his gaze for what felt like an eternity. Finally he lifted one hand and cupped your face. When you didn't move away, he leaned in and kissed you. Closing your eyes, you kissed him back.
Pulling back, he softly smiled at you while his thumb caressed your cheek. "Welcome home."
You reached up and grabbed his hand, intertwining your fingers through his as you held it. "Thank you, for waiting for me."
Youngjae chuckled and shook his head his head slightly. "It was only a year. You had to wait for me for four years."
This time you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion as you thought about what he said. He obviously was talking about the first time you had left but it didn't make any sense. "But I didn't even realize how you felt so how could I.."
He pulled you closer, slipping his arms around your waist. "It doesn't matter. You still had to wait for me to grow up. And I'm glad you did. That selfish idiot would have ruined the best thing that ever happened to me."
A sly grin formed on your face as you put your arms around his neck again. "Best thing? What if I end up making you miserable?"
"If that's what it takes in order to hold you in my arms like this," He pecked your lips with his, "Then please do."
You giggled and shook your head incredulously. Then you kissed him and suppressed a moan when he eagerly kissed you back.
Breaking off the kiss, he took your luggage with one hand and grabbed your hand with the other. "Come on." he said as he led you towards the exit. "Mom's waiting for us."
Barking out a laugh, you asked, "Which one?"
He gave you a knowing smirk, the familiar one that you had seen grace his face throughout your childhood. "Both of them."