Since the breakup, Dahyun and Jihyo had been in completely different situations. While Dahyun had accepted the fact that the relationship had been strained past it’s limit and was at peace with the breakup, Jihyo hadn’t thought about it at all, to him things were fine and it came out of nowhere when his boyfriend, I mean ex-boyfriend called things off. Sure, absolutely all of their friends had told the older boy he should do something to make things right with his boyfriend, but he thought it was just a small misunderstanding, nothing worth breaking up over.

From the moment the call ended, Dahyun had freed himself, allowed himself to experience new things, feel everything fully, do whatever he wanted to but didn’t out of respect for his boyfriend. He went swimming with Lisa and her friends, flirted around, had a great time, and even hooked up with his Thai friend, they decided to remain friends after a few times together, having found out they weren’t really that compatible romantically. It was great, and both Joohyun and Seungwan were glad their little one was feeling much better, maybe not so much that he was a little too free with his endeavours, but both decided to not focus on that too much. Mr and Mrs Bae were just happy their youngest was feeling the best he did in the last months, maybe the last year.

Jihyo, the one who should have done something but didn’t, took a while to understand what happened, when Dahyun said to break up, he was stunned, rendered numb to all the feelings that should have bubbled up. Maybe that was the very reason this mess happened in the first place, he had been putting his relationship aside for too long. If Jihyo had done something when he noticed the first time he hadn’t talked to his boyfriend in three days, or when his friends beat him up and told him to do something, perhaps when Joohyun didn’t allow him to enter the Bae house to see Dahyun, even when his own mother said he was going to lose the love of his life if he continued to take things for granted.

Now, it’s not like Jihyo was intentionally ditching his relationship, but he let routine and new things fill up all his time and was so certain Dahyun would always be there that his relationship wasn’t really any priority in his mind. He had just won the Chem olympics, then there was Seulgi’s cousin, Daniel, a really interesting and fun guy to hang out with, and there was also all the fallout of the wrestling team and the repercussions of it. At the end of the day, Jihyo knew it was all on him, his boyfriend had grown tired of being in a relationship alone and decided to free himself, he couldn’t even be mad at Dahyun for calling things off.

Now, the days Dahyun was in Thailand were tough for Jihyo, even if he wanted to do something out of despair, he couldn’t, but nothing worse than knowing that the younger boy was just down in Jeju and he still couldn’t just show up there and try to get him back. Seungwan had been the one to message Jihyo, knowing the boy would have found out at some point, telling him to not even think about showing up. Grandpa Son liked the boy very much and would have welcomed him regardless of what anybody else said, and Dahyun still wanted some time away from the older boy, especially because talking to him would be unavoidable once they got back to Seoul.

Jihyo had been very down, Daniel tried to meet up a few times, claiming Seulgi and Yeri were driving him crazy and that he wanted to have some time with just the two of them before he had to go back home and finish packing. The smaller boy said something about work and turned him down gently, Jihyo wasn’t really doing much, he had even stopped going to work at the shelter, only attending classes because he needed the extra hours and they were failable, and failing summer school was something even he would down upon. He had been skipping gym as well, giving his parents the excuse that he wasn’t wrestling anymore and could take an off season at the moment.

With so much time to himself, Jihyo had time to think through everything that happened and revisit the mistakes that were made. He understood where Dahyun was coming from when he said that their relationship wasn’t working and how he got the impression that Jihyo didn’t want him anymore. But there is no use crying over spilled milk, this time Jihyo had to rethink everything and see clearly what he had done was used to also understand what needed to change and improve if he wanted to go after the younger boy again. 

Jeong and Tzu showed up a few times, but they had just left for their camping trip, Seulgi and Yeri were busy trying to get the younger boy to not flunk (summer classes was his last chance) and everyone else was out of town, or the country. He heard from a conversation between Jennie and Chaeyoung (the tall girl, Park Chaeyoung, not our anxious gnome), that he was definitely not listening in because he heard Thailand and Dahyun among the sentences, that Lisa, their long legged friend, had told the shorter girl she had made out with the pale boy and he was a hidden giant. 

Then he breathed a little more relieved when Jennie continued to say that Lisa said Dahyun didn’t look like it with his usual clothes but when they went to the beach she found out he was huge, even saved her from some handsy tourist by simply showing up and flexing a little. Well, the younger Bae was, indeed, completely ripped, Dahyun gained muscle easily and kept them with little effort, something Jihyo had always been envious about, and now sporting a full beard, he could pass as older, not to mention his hairy chest helped make his built look that much bigger. Jihyo preferred to believe his boyfriend didn’t go too far with the Thai girl.

Ex-boyfriend, Jihyo, get with the program.

Now, Jihyo knew the Bae brothers and Sana were at Grandpa Son’s rest house in Jeju, a place he was supposed to be too, but he screwed everything up. Mama Park had enough of her son moping around and decided to take things into her own hands, however. She had been talking to papa Son while the boys were in Thailand, the man wasn’t very much for this plan, but he also wanted Jihyo to have a chance to shape up and be the man he knew his parents raised the boy to be. He would have to talk to the boys, but Jihyo was going to spend time with them in Jeju and try to be forgiven and they will have to be okay with it.

Mama Park proceeded to tell her son to pack for a week and not ask questions, she was taking him to the Son mansion (mr Park was out on another business trip down in Daejeon). Jihyo tried to understand what his mother was planning, but the woman was a master in the art of deflecting, and they were headed to the train station, not a single clue was being given. The trip to Jeju was alright, mrs Park always had a weird fondness for on-board food, something about it being just so bad it was good, yeah, nobody ever understood. They arrived in Busan only to hop on a ferry to Jeju City, and that was when the boy understood their destination.

“Mom?” Jihyo asks, a little weary.

“Yes, dear?” The woman answers nonchalantly.

“Why are you taking me to grandpa Son’s? You know I’m not exactly welcome there right now.”

“Exactly because of that. Dongwoon and I talked to grandpa and grandma Son, and then to the boys so you could have a chance to try and fix your mistakes.” Jihyo makes to protest but the woman continues before he can speak. “Yes, you do need the help so don’t even. Also, Dahyun just agreed to be civil, claiming it wasn’t his house so he can’t really do anything about it, and that he can’t promise he will even want to talk to you at all. So, we could only get you to be in the same place as him, it’s all up to you to try your best and accept whatever Dubs will be willing to give back.”

“You could have told me, you know?” The boy concedes.

“No I couldn’t.” Mrs Park says dryly.

“No you couldn’t, you’re right.”

The rest of the way is filled with conversations about nothing important, just a way to get Jihyo’s mind out of the situation, mrs Park also decides to begin an impromptu boat photoshoot, which is kind of limited since they were on a ferry and there wasn’t really that much space to pose around, but it got her son to loosen up a little and that was the goal. Once they do arrive in Jeju City, mrs Park takes them to the car rental place and they are off to the Son rest house. It was in a very private neighborhood, near the national park, close to nature, the warm breeze of the island making everything move slower, a very nice place to let loose and relax without having to think about anything.

They arrived, the boys had gone down to the beach, mrs Son had offered to take them, and the adults had decided to make some barbecue in the back, Naeun was out partying in one of her toys’ yacht, or something like that nobody really cared. Mama Park found a spot in the garage and dragged her boy inside, Jihyo was very nervous, but relaxed a bit when they were told the boys weren’t in. This was happening, it was real, and he could only accept whatever Dahyun did because he had no more say on anything about the boy.