Japan had been successful for you. Your career was established there and you had been promoted twice in the two years since you had been back. You were often called upon to work with new clients and assisted in the expansion of the company. You were someone people envied due to your work ethic. And that’s because you had worked incredibly hard to avoid the pain of being without Chanyeol.

When you returned from the dinner that night, Chanyeol hadn’t been there. And he didn’t come home for days either, crashing with a work colleague until that became a permanent situation. Yet when you went to leave for Japan, he had turned up, eyes blazing.

“Don’t go, if you go, it means you’re giving up on us,” he had pleaded. You wanted to cave and dive into his arms and never let go.

Instead, you got on the plane and returned to your apartment six months later to find every physical trace of him gone. It hurt more than you anticipated being back in that space and it wasn’t long until you moved on as well, to another part of the city in hopes you would be able to start over, renewed.

Of course, you can never escape family.

At first, your parents had been awkward with their contact, simply checking to see if you were settling in well overseas. But as time continued, your mother’s usual incessant prattling returned and you grew accustomed to your role in your conversations with her again. After returning home, you had been invited home and turned up, anxious that Chanyeol would be there as well.

It was evident you were looking around for him and your mother smiled weakly. “Channie had something else on tonight.”

And that was the way you continued from there out. Family gatherings were split, you doing some holidays and Chanyeol doing the others. You would hear tidbits about his life now and then until your father would clear his throat loudly, noticing how quiet and anxious you became each time.

The first Christmas arrived and you were thankful for an impromptu business trip to Japan to keep you away from spending it with everyone. Although you had been preparing yourself ever since the decorations arrived in stores in late October, you knew it was too soon. You couldn’t fathom sitting in the same room as Chanyeol and your parents playing happy family. It was still too raw.

It was Chanyeol’s turn to miss Christmas the following year, now a famous music professor who was sought after overseas. You wondered if the distance from you would help him deal with things like it did for you.

Though you knew you were lying to yourself if you actually thought it had helped any.

The one thing you didn’t miss was the anniversary of his parents’ death. Of course, you went alone to visit them, leaving behind your endless tears and an apology for not remaining at his side. Your parents always attempted to get you to come to the offering each time, but Chanyeol had mentioned in the background of a call the first time that it was okay if you didn’t come. You realised then that he couldn’t handle seeing you either. Especially on such a vulnerable day for him.

It continued like this until a family emergency occurred.

“What?!” you exclaimed as your mother sobbed down the phone to you, and you leapt out of your chair immediately, blinded by the tears that fell fast. Your father had suffered a heart attack.

Arriving at the hospital as quickly as you could, you searched the numbers until you found the room you required, bursting into it and finding your mother slumped over the bed crying and Chanyeol comforting her softly. They both looked up at your arrival and your mother