The sound of an incoming call woke up Seungcheol, he opened his eyes slowly and looked around the room. He had barely slept last night; he had stayed hours staring at the ceiling and remembering how his life was before his mother passed away.

Another ring from the phone brought his attention back and he answered with a sleepy voice.

“Mr. Choi Seungcheol?” The caller asked with a confused voice.

Seungcheol stared at his phone for a moment before checking the time and he groaned when he realized he was late for his meeting.

He apologized before confirming that he was on his way and as soon as he cut the call he ran to the bathroom.

His grandmother gave him an amused expression as he appeared in the living room with his half dried hair and his crooked tie.

“I thought that at your age you would wake up early on your own.”

He gave her a sheepish smile before running to the door with his briefcase in one hand and a French toast in the other.

As he drove his car through the city, he felt the need to open the window. The air felt so different from Seoul, the smell of the sea and the clear sky made everything feel cinematic.

He was coordinating the advertising campaign for a restaurant chain that had already opened in different cities of Korea and now was investing in Busan. His initial plan was to stay one week and then return to the capital to help Jeonghan organize the opening party of the new hotel, but the other was going to stay in Jeju longer than expected. So Seungcheol was debating if he should stay another week with his grandmother. It had been years since they saw each other for more than a few hours and he felt bad to leave her so soon when she lived alone and was expecting his arrival for so long.

“Tomorrow the photographer and the models will be ready at 9 am for the photoshoot” He announced to his client after confirming the information with his assistant Wonwoo.

He had lunch with his client before leaving the restaurant and as soon as he sat on his car he checked the messages he had received. Jeonghan was asking if he was okay and to call him as soon as he was free. His father sent him a lot of work related information that he should confirm by email. Chan had sent him lots of messages and the last one said “I called grandma to find out if you were alive cause you didn’t answer”. Seungcheol smiled at that and answered the message with lots of emojis.

Chan was his step brother, but Seungcheol never introduced him to others like that. For him Chan was his younger brother, and nobody could say otherwise. His father had remarried five years after his mother’s death and his father’s new wife already had an eight years old son. Chan had lost his father in a car accident so Seungcheol felt the need to protect the younger. That was why it annoyed him the pressure his own father put on the other and how he didn’t support Chan’s dream to become a dancer.

He decided to call Jeonghan and he wasn’t surprised when the other started talking about work and how he couldn’t believe the mess that was happening in his Jeju hotel when he should be focused on the inaugural party in Seoul. He insisted Seungcheol to check with Wonwoo how the advertising plan for the party was going. Seungcheol patiently calmed the other down and told him he would update him as soon as he received the information. Maybe he should return to Seoul at the end of the week afterall.

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Before leaving to Seoul, Mingyu had given him a camera as a gift. The other had been modeling in China for a couple of months when he met Minghao and he became friends with the photographer. Since then Mingyu had been interested in being behind the camera as well as being in front of it. Jihoon hadn’t have time to check the camera, but now he had two entire weeks to put his amateur skills in practice.

He had accompanied his mother to his old school where she taught music as well as the after school music academy. It was not wonder from where he got his love and skills for music. He had taken pictures of any interesting place he saw and some students even tried to pose for the camera. It was fun to walk around the hallways he had been when he was younger. Many memories appeared in his mind as he walked through the market and the park near his house.

Mingyu had sent him a message to confirm the date of the party along with a picture of him with other models smiling. He sent a smile emoji before enjoying the snacks he had bought. He didn’t want to think about the party, but he couldn’t help but notice that Mingyu looked even better with his new hairstyle. And Jihoon had to admit he missed the other more than he cared to show in front of his mother.

They had met as university freshmen when they became roommates. Both of them were on a scholarship so they were very supportive when it came to their studies and forcing the other to rest if they looked near to faint. Jihoon worked part-time at the library and Mingyu modeled for barely known brands.

They had been there for each other through all their university years, when Mingyu got frustrated with acting and wanted to quit, when Jihoon got scammed to work in a music company, when Mingyu got his first big modeling campaign and when Jihoon’s song got accepted by a rookie artist.

After university they had moved together just as friends, but as the weeks and the months passed, the smiles and the hugs turned into kisses and more. And Jihoon got used to wake up in Mingyu’s arms. He wished things had stayed that way, but even before Mingyu had moved to Korea, they had been too busy to sync their schedules and it was a miracle if they could spend a day together.

Maybe that was why all his last songs were about longing and remembering happy moments. And that thought made him remember about the paper he had found last night.

3.Seungcheol

That was all the paper said and Jihoon bit his lip trying to stop his smile.

There were only three things he remembered about the other after all these years.

He had puppy eyes that widened when Jihoon kissed his plump lips barely keeping his balance as he stood on his tiptoes to reach Seungcheol’s face.