Hey! I'm sorry that Take It Slow took slow to update. Hahaha.
My special person went to visit last weekend so I wasn't able to update. But anyway, I thought it's gonna be the last chapter now but I decided to cut it in half and reserve the other half of this for the next chapter.

AND PLEASE PLEASE, DON'T KILL ME WITH THIS UPDATE. HAHAHAHAHA. I'LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU GUYS ON THE EPILOGUE! ILOVEYOU!
ALSO, I DID NOT PROOFREAD.

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The sound of chimes resonates in your ears when the door of the cafe opens. You raise your head to see if it's the person you're waiting for and you are not disappointed to see a warm smile welcomes your eyes.

“Beomie,” you mirror his grin.

He doesn't waste a second as he instantly walks towards you. He kisses your cheek before taking the seat across you. His eyes gleam at the sight of Strawberry Milk Shake on the table.

“You ordered one for me?”

“Of course,” you smile, “for the one and only.”

His eyes disappear as his lips stretch further. You stay at the cafe for a small catching up for the whole two weeks you haven’t seen each other and until you finish your drink down to the last drop.

“Are you ready for the wedding?” Jaebeom queries during the car ride. He insists on driving you to the field where you’re gonna start with your new assigned project.

Your heart flutters at the word. Wedding. It’s been months already but every time you remember it, you can’t help but feel like your heart is gonna melt.

You just grin and take a deep breath before shooting the question back to him. “How about the groom-to-be?”

He can’t contain his smile. His grip on the wheel tightens as he exhales a sharp breath. “I have never been this ready in my life; and also nervous.”

You chuckle. He continues to express his excitement and starts to reminisce the old days.

When his car comes to a stop, it’s your time to become nervous. You fumble with your fingers as you look straight at the site.

Jaebeom cups your uneasy hands making you look at him. He gives you a reassurance smile and you inhale deeply to calm yourself.

“How are you feeling?” You just bite your lip instead of responding. “You haven’t seen each other for six years.”

You clench your fist and let out a shaky breath as you get out of the car.

“Let’s meet in the middle.”

You can still remember it clearly. The feeling of Sungjin's soft lips against yours is still fresh as if it just happened a moment ago. The warmth of his embrace as if not wanting to let you go still lingers.

Two months after he went back to Seoul, you found a box while making some renovations and saw your old drawing books. They revived something in you that you never realized you really wanted.

As a child, you were adventurous and creative. You wanted to build things that other children find ridiculous. But there was always someone who never criticized your ideas. He would always listen quietly to your plans while others would always want to change the topic and play because they don’t find them interesting.

You smiled when you saw one of your drawings. It was a house for Tori, a dog given as a present for you and Dowoon when you turned five.

People around you never paid attention to what you wanted to build but someone made them possible with the help of his uncle. It was Sungjin.

At an early age, your creativity could already be seen. But you hid your love for art and designing because it seemed like no one’s gonna ever pay attention to them. You hid your notebooks and sketchpads. You played a lot outside--that’s when your friends noticed how fast you were. Every time you’d play tag or any game that involves running, children would always fight over you, wanting to join their team. That's how you became a runner.

“Pursue what you love,” was your mother’s words when she saw you scanning through your drawing notebooks.

So you went to Massachusetts.

For the past six years, you did well. Yes, you’re giving yourself a credit for that. The first half of it was torture. You would always feel homesick. You would always have the urge to book a flight back to Korea. You would always cry yourself to sleep as you couldn’t do anything about you missing your brother, your mom, Sungjin, and even your dad. It was hard being alone. It was hard fighting without having a shoulder to cry on. You understood what Sungjin wanted, but sometimes you’d wish that at least somehow, you could feel his arms wrapped around you for comfort and to make you feel it’d be okay.

“We have our separate battles, the ones that only ourselves could fight against. We need to build our individual selves first,” these words of him had become your determination. Every time you’d feel weak and in the verge of giving up, you’d remember the last conversation you had. And you know that the biggest battle you had to fight was your relationship with your father. “If we can't fix one's self, how can we take care of others? If we can't handle one, how can we carry two?” His next words would echo in your mind just when you’re about to utter the words of surrender. You would think of his own battles, of how he was fighting them alone, too--to build himself up so he could take care of you. You need to do the same.

So it made you realize, you weren't really fighting alone. You're fighting together individually. It might not make sense for others, but at least you understand it. That's what matters.

You understood more about his principles when you witnessed your friends’ relationship during the time you’re away from home. You had a very close friend who had a very sweet relationship. It was an ideal one. Yet, both of them still had an unsettled battle. You saw them helping each other with those battles, but it just caused them more damage until one couldn’t take it anymore because he was already severely wounded.

It scared you. But at the same time, it made you feel relieved. It made you become more grateful that Sungjin had stood on his principles.

Now, you’re back in Korea, with chin up, with a confident self, knowing you had build yourself. You forgave and healed. You’ve settled your issues with your father, and everything in your family. You’ve crashed your insecurities, too. Now, you’re ready.

You’re pulled back from your reverie when Jaebeom holds your hand gently again after he gets out of his car, too.

“Go,” he whispers as he nods towards the site. “I’ll see you later. I love you.”

You nod before he kisses your forehead. “I love you, too. Take care. The wedding can’t continue without you.”

He chuckles as his eyes hide then he speeds up.

You let out a breath as Jaebeom’s car disappears from your vision. You chin up, grip the lace of the drawing tube stripped around your shoulder, and proceed to enter the site.

A worker hands you a hard hat before you can even proceed further. Then, a familiar broad back welcomes your sight. He’s also wearing a hard hat. You smile as you realize he let his hair grew back. He’s discussing the blueprint in hand with the workers around him when the one in front of him points at you.

He lifts his head up and turns to look at you. His mouth falls agape and you can see how his shoulders drop as a heavy breath escapes his mouth. The air suddenly feels heavy. He’s just staring straight at you while the worker beside him is trying to introduce you. It seems like he can’t hear anything and the only thing in his mind right now is that you’re in front of him.

“Engineer Park,” the worker calls his attention again.

You smile and take two more steps forward as you stretch your hand for a shake.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Engineer Park,” you beam at him and he still can’t fold his lips close.

He looks at your outstretched hand and shake it. “Pleasure’s mine,” he holds your hand for more than a second and it’s you who pulls back first.

The eyes around you go back and forth towards you and Sungjin, sensing there’s something between the two of you.

You look around and see a backhoe loader in the far distance. A trencher is also moving around. There’s already a part of the site that is already cemented, like where you stand with Sungjin and some of the workers now. Some of the columns are also done. You look back at Sungjin and find him still staring at you, as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing right now.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve already heard about the dismissal of Architect Jeon in this project, am I correct?” He nods. “And I’m here to take her place and continue this project. I’ve already have the gist of the current status and as I can see we can still make the revisions in time.”

“Revisions?” He knits his brows before he lifts one. You almost smile at the sight. How you miss seeing his expressions.

“Yes, Engineer Park,” you pierce his eyes, “Don’t worry. The revisions won’t affect what you’ve already started. It’s just that Architect Jeon’s design costs a lot. And I believe we can still save the atmosphere she wants to achieve with some compromises, especially with some materials that aren’t as costly as what she wants but can still function the same, or even better.”

“Yes, I actually talked to her about it and suggest some changes but she wouldn’t compromise even for a little.”

“Then, I guess the right architect for you has just arrived,” you wink and he raises a brow again. “Perhaps we could discuss this over dinner or coffee, whichever you prefer.”

A clearing of throat interrupts you but neither of you breaks the eye contact.

“Engineer Park, I’ll pack up some of our things. It’s almost time to head out.”

“I need to discuss something with the other workers, too.”

Sungjin just nods and for a second, the workers around you are gone.

“You’re here,” he utters breathily. His eyes softens.

You beam lightly and fish a box inside your bag. You offer it to him--a familiar yellow box. “Long time no see.”

He takes the box from your hand and sees the bear design. He puts his other hands in his jean’s pocket as he drop his head before he heaves another heavy breath. “Coffee and dinner?” He composes himself after lifting his head back up.

He drives you to a near restaurant. You keep talking to him about the comparison of Architect Jeon’s design and yours. He keeps on nodding but nothing’s actually going inside his head. His mind is full of thoughts about you--how he wants to hold you close right now, how much he wants to ask you how you’ve been, how are you, what happened, and if he still exists in your heart.

Over dinner, he can’t hold himself back anymore. “Can we stop talking about work?” His eyes are pleading. “I haven’t seen you for six years,” his voice becomes shaky.

You smile and look down before you reach for you bag to get a small envelope.

You slide it on the table and his chest suddenly feels tight. Your fingers are covering half of the envelope but what he sees makes him want the ground to swallow him whole.

& Im Jaebeom

Surely, it’s a wedding invitation.

! Was I too slow?

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Anyway, I also have another reason why I hadn't updated! I have an ongoing JaePil Filo (Filipino) au on twitter (Social Media au).
It's on my pinned tweet (@kohiiby)
Also drop something on cc? Thanks!