A weird feeling overcame Dongju as he sat at the dinner table with his parents and brother. He knew better than to chase after that feeling right away, but he did send a discreet look at Dongmyeong who dismissed himself from the table before going to message someone. He soon rejoined them at the table, sitting down and picking up his chopsticks and continuing to eat his meal.

Dongju talked rather excitedly with his parents about his plans after the school year, which was a few months away at this point. He looked forward to spending the next semester in Korea, where he would learn everything he could about the field he was trying to get into.
 

~

After dinner Dongju waited on the news in his and Dongmyeong's room from whoever could get to Jay but it seemed like nothing was happening yet as Dongmyeong hadn't gotten any news from any of the others.

"Still no news?" Asked Dongju as Dongmyeong entered their room after taking a shower.

"Sadly no," sighed Dongmyeong. "But no news is sometimes good news," he added.
 

~

Jake stood in LAX, wondering how the hell he was going to get to where Jay was staying. He wished he had at least announced his arrival, but Jahan had insisted that it was easier to head over in this way. He wasn't sure why he didn't just announce his presence but Jahan assured him that someone would be waiting for him.

As Jake pondered what to do next someone approached him, wearing what looked to be clothes that belonged to a guard or a soldier of sorts.

"Jake?" Asked the person who stopped in front of him.

"That's me," responded Jake as he bowed his head in greeting. "I'm guessing you're the one who's picking me up?" He asked.

"The name's Yunho," responded Yunho as he nodded. "Yes, I'm picking you up," he added. "We need to hurry home though, I got a message from Dongju about going to check on Jay," he explained as he quickly left the terminal. Jake quickly followed after him.
 

~

Jay let out a soft breath as he stood in the bathroom. He didn't want to do what he was about to do. Part of him screamed at him to not attempt what he was about to do but he couldn't keep fighting anymore.

Before Jay could do anything he heard the front door open and frantic footsteps running to his location.

"Jay?" Called Yunho as he stood outside the bathroom.

Jay hesitated as he turned towards the door. "...Yeah?" He asked, hoping his voice wouldn't sound strained.

"What are you doing in the bathroom?" Asked Yunho as he prepared to knock down the door if Jay didn't give a decent answer.

"...I was using the bathroom," Jay eventually replied as he went to flush the toilet before walking over to the sink and washing his hands before drying them. He went to open the door, blinking at Yunho before noticing Jake standing behind him, looking concerned for Jay. "Jake," he breathed out, blinking as Jake moved around Yunho who stepped back and tackled him, bringing Jay into a hug.

"Don't scare us like that?" Jake mumbled into Jay's shoulder.

"I don't know what you're talking about," muttered Jay as he pulled away. "I was just using the bathroom, like I said," he explained with a shrug.

"Right," sighed Jake. "Right," he repeated as he grabbed Jay by the arm and dragged him out of the bathroom and down the hall. They headed downstairs with Yunho following behind them a few minutes later.
 

~

"Looks like they got to them in time," commented Dongmyeong as his tablet pinged, causing him to look at it. He read through the messages before sighing and putting his tablet down on the bedside table.

"Good," sighed Dongju as he leaned back against the headboard with a relieved look on his face. "I want to head back tomorrow," he muttered, shaking his head. "Jake is there, but just him and Yunho isn't enough," he explained. "Keonhee had to do something back home I think," he added. "But I don't know, he seems more closed off than Jay does," he mused.

"We'll head home in the morning," reassured Dongmyeong. "Get some sleep okay? I'm sure Jake and Yunho are capable of keeping Jay above the water," he added.

"Okay," hummed Dongju as he nodded.
 

~

Jake looked very lost as he sat with Jay in the livingroom watching a movie. Yunho had left the two alone when Arthur called him about something important so it was just the two of them at this point.

"What brings you here anyway?" Asked Jay as he turned to Jake.

"I wanted to thank you for giving me the opportunity to get out of my situation," replied Jake as he nodded his head.

"Did it help?" Asked Jay as he blinked in surprise.

"It helped immensely," replied Jake as he shrugged. "I got to move into Seoho, Yeonjun and Allen's house," he explained. "Well, Allen is still at the dorms, but," he added with a shrug. "I took his room for the time being," he explained. "Allen actually offered to let me move into his dorms but I declined," he added. "I couldn't move back into the dorms after everything," he explained with a soft sigh.

"How is everyone anyway?" Asked Jay as he checked his tablet for anything new.

"Seems to be fine," mumbled Jake as he shrugged. "The only person I really talk to now is Heeseung because Taehyun often visits Yeonjun," he added. "I don't work at the cafe anymore, but I can guarantee that Sunghoon and Jungwon have mended their relationship a bit," he explained. "Sunghoon is in a couple of my classes, so," he added. "He seems happier anyway," he explained with a relieved huff.

"Yeah, Sunghoon messaged me a few days ago thanking me for getting Jungwon to finally reconcile with him," hummed Jay. "He's one of the few people I still talk to, other than Niki," he explained. "He's still trying to figure out what his soulmate mark is," he added with a shrug.

"I don't think Niki has a soulmate mark," remarked Jake as he looked thoughtful.

"I didn't think so either," agreed Jay as he nodded. "But I guess we'll see when his shows up, if it does," he hummed.

"Mhm," hummed Jake.