Four

“Congratulations!”

Laughter and music filled the air as the group cheered for the graduates. Soojin’s graduation ceremony was finally over, and the group had gathered at the restaurant to celebrate. A few of her friends from the University had joined in the celebration, and the whole restaurant had been reserved for them.

Mr. Kim had the restaurant rearranged just for the occasion. The tables had been pushed to the side, a buffet table set up in one corner, and a dance floor was now available in the middle of the room. Drinks flowed, and a lot of people seemed drunk already. They were all dancing and enjoying themselves.

Taekwoon dragged the tipsy Hakyeon to the table where Soojin sat watching everyone. Hakyeon couldn’t recall seeing her drink anything, but his friend looked tired already. He knew she was bracing herself for later, when she’d be forced to look after her drunken friends. She spotted him in Taekwoon’s stranglehold and laughed.

“We’re supposed to be having fun, you know.” Hakyeon huffed at his captor.

“You’re driving me and Soojin home later. You have to stay sober.” Taekwoon answered, pushing him into a seat.

Soojin shook her head, still laughing. “Taek’s right. You need to hold back on those drinks,” she said, then turned to the serious one. “You, on the other hand, need to loosen up! This is a party!”

“Says the girl who’s done nothing but sit at the table the whole night,” Hakyeon reached over the table to poke Soojin’s cheek.

“For your information, I’ve been dancing so much my feet hurt!” Soojin stuck her tongue out at him as Taekwoon took a seat beside her. She turned to him once more. “Thank you for preventing this guy from killing us later.”

Hakyeon opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by a bouquet of flowers appearing on the table between them. All three turned to the owner of the hand holding the flowers, and Soojin squealed in delight.

“Jaehwan!” She stood and wrapped her arms around the young man’s neck. It was like an automatic movement for her. He returned the hug and lifted Soojin off her feet and spinning her around.

Hakyeon’s eyes narrowed as the other best friend set Soojin down and pulled her closer to himself. “Congratulations on your graduation!”

Soojin pulled back from the hug and looked at Jaehwan from head to toe, seemingly taking in the sight of him. “I still can’t believe you’re here,” she gushed, hugging him once more. Hakyeon couldn’t recall when Soojin became so clingy with her best friend – she sure wasn’t like that with him.

Hakyeon stood and coughed, breaking the two apart so he and Taekwoon could greet the newcomer. Taekwoon tapped him on the back and asked how he was, while Hakyeon gave him a hug. The younger man was closer to the two of them than the other guys, after all – aside from Sanghyuk.

"Stop hogging Jaehwan!" Soojin pouted, tapping her foot impatiently. "I missed him, too, you know!"

Jaehwan chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It seems you missed me so much, huh?"

"You have no idea!"

"Well, I think I do," there was a teasing tone in Jaehwan's reply. "You haven't hugged me this passionately since-"

Soojin clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. Hakyeon thought he glimpsed a bit of red in her cheeks but couldn’t be sure due to the room’s lighting.

"Since when was that, Soojin?" Hakyeon asked, and the two turned to him, as if only realizing he was still there.

"Since we were last with him, Hakyeon. Go get some coffee so you can sober up." Soojin snapped, pulling away from Jaehwan. "My feet hurt. Let's sit down and you can tell us what you've been up to the past couple of years, huh?"

Hakyeon shrugged off Soojin’s sudden change in tone and took a seat with the others. Jaehwan hesitated before he was pulled into a seat next to Soojin. “Come on. Tell us what’s happened. Don’t you think we deserve a proper explanation on why you left us?”

Hakyeon watched as Jaehwan looked at her, his eyes searching hers. It seemed he found whatever it was he was looking for, as he began his story. The others listened carefully. Even Hakyeon was silent as Jaehwan told them why he left without telling anyone – and why he’d been unreachable for two years.

“I was admitted to a psych facility. My parents became really concerned with my alternate personality. Jinah’s met him, so she knows why anyone would be concerned – even scared. I had no control over him, and my blackouts were happening more often. I – no, he – was violent,” Jaehwan paused, glancing at Soojin. Hakyeon saw the conversation between their eyes and got the feeling Soojin knew more than she had let on. She nodded at him, urging him to go on.

“I was in the facility for so long. I don’t even remember much of anything since I barely knew how many days had passed while I was in there. It wasn’t until last month that I was released. I wanted to see you all right away, but I wasn’t in any condition to be seeing other people yet. I’ve been living at our family’s rest house out of town ever since.”

Jaehwan stopped to look at each of them in turn, his gaze finally landing on Soojin’s, who looked back at him with sympathy in her eyes. He pinched her cheek. “Don’t look at me like that, Jinah. I’m fine! Really. I’m a lot better now than I used to be. I don’t even have blackouts anymore.”

“That’s good to know,” Soojin responded, rubbing her cheek.

“What are you people doing just sitting here? Come on and party!” Sanghyuk suddenly appeared at the table, pulling Hakyeon and Soojin out of their seats. He stopped abruptly when he realized who the fourth person at the table was. “Je- Jaehwan hyung?”

“Hey there, Hyukkie,” Jaehwan smiled widely at his favorite dongsaeng.

“Come on, guys! Let’s have some more fun before Mr. Kim decides that it’s closing time!” Wonsik and Hongbin joined the group, also stopping abruptly when they spotted their long-lost friend.

“Hyung!” Hongbin rushed forward, grabbing the older boy by his shoulders. “You’re here! You’re really here!”

“Welcome back!” Wonsik greeted, clapping him on the back.

Jaehwan grinned at the two, who chose to pull him to the dance floor. “Let’s go dance while we can! We’ll catch up later.” Wonsik held him by the arm, and Hongbin followed them with Hakyeon.

Hakyeon stole one more glance at Soojin as he allowed himself to be dragged off by his friends. He followed her line of sight and sighed as he found it landing on none other than Jaehwan. He shook his head in an attempt to throw out the thoughts creeping up on him. Of course her attention would be on him. He is her best friend, too. Plus they haven’t seen each other in years…

“Ah, hyung! What are you doing?” Wonsik’s voice broke through Hakyeon’s daze. “You’re in the middle of the dance floor yet you’re just standing around like that? Break out your moves!”

Hakyeon looked around him and saw Wonsik and Hongbin dancing with a bunch of girls. They looked more like they were at a club instead of a graduation party. He rubbed his temples and walked back to where Soojin and Taekwoon sat watching the crowd. He didn’t really have much to drink, but he had a really bad headache coming on.

“Back so soon?” Soojin laughed. Hakyeon looked up, smiling as he was about to reply, but Soojin was looking in a different direction.

“I can’t stand the crowd,” Jaehwan pulled a seat closer to Soojin and sat down, resting his head on her shoulder.

Soojin patted his head. “Maybe we should head home already. I’m definitely beat.”

Hakyeon quickly pulled her out of her seat, leaving Jaehwan to catch himself before his head hit the chair. “I’ll take you home, Jinnie!”

“What the? Eh, Hakyeon –“ Soojin stumbled, grabbing Hakyeon’s arm to steady herself.

In a flash, Jaehwan and Taekwoon were by the two. The latter hit Hakyeon on the back of his head. “You’re drunk. You can’t drive.”

“Are you okay, Jinah?” Jaehwan laughed at the older boy’s state. Hakyeon felt that he probably had one too many drinks, but his actions weren’t caused by the alcohol. He squinted his eyes at the newcomer.

“She’s fine.” He drawled. Soojin looked at him like he was crazy and tried to pull out of his grasp, but he refused to let go. He turned to Taekwoon. “I’m also fine. I’m not drunk. I can still drive you guys home.”

“No, you can’t.” The other was firm as he pulled Soojin out of Hakyeon’s grip. “Go tell Mr. Kim that we’re leaving,” he added to Soojin. She nodded and went to search for the restaurant’s owner.

Hakyeon glared at the taller man, who ignored his accusing look. “Give me your keys.”

A glaring contest ensued between the two older boys. Hakyeon rarely got serious in arguing or fighting with Taekwoon, but the alcohol must have hit him more than he thought. Neither of the two backed down.

“Uh,” Jaehwan vocalized, breaking the two apart. Hakyeon huffed and handed his keys to Taekwoon, who quietly left.

“I see he’s speaking more,” Jaehwan whispered to him.

Hakyeon shrugged. “First time I heard him speak as much.”

The older boy took a seat once more and held his head in his hands. His head was throbbing like crazy. This can’t be the alcohol, he thought. He had a pretty good alcohol tolerance, so he had no idea what brought this on. A hand on his shoulder made him look up.

“You alright, hyung?”

Hakyeon squinted up at the owner of the hand, only to resume his position right away. “I’m fine.”

He was uncomfortable at the other’s return. Although he, Soojin and Jaehwan were the best of friends in high school, he knew that Jaehwan had felt something more for their best friend. The bond between the two went deeper, as it was Jaehwan that had helped Soojin break down the walls she had around herself when she first arrived in their neighborhood years ago. Jaehwan was Soojin’s emotional pillar. It was a position Hakyeon knew he could probably never take, but wasn’t about to give up on, either.

I won’t give up just because he’s back, Hakyeon thought to himself. Soojin’s laugh made him look up. He saw her chatting with her classmates and watched as she joked with them. I won’t give up before I even have a chance...

-----------------------

Soojin shook her head as they waved goodbye to the boys in the taxi. They had decided to send off the three before the rest of them left in Hakyeon’s car. Wonsik and Hongbin had taken a dozen shots too many, and Sanghyuk had been assigned to take them back to their dorm safely.

“At least one of them is responsible,” Jaehwan commented.

Soojin smiled. “Maybe one of us should get a bigger car.”

“And play chauffer to all the kids? No way,” Hakyeon said, rubbing the back of his head.

Soojin turned to face him, concerned. “Does your head still hurt?”

He nodded. “I guess I just need some sleep. Let’s go before Taekwoon takes off with my car.”

The three said one last goodbye to Mr. Kim and his staff before heading off to Hakyeon’s car, where Taekwoon waited behind the wheel. Soojin sighed as the two boys with her began arguing about who would sit in the passenger seat. They both apparently wanted to sit in the back. Soojin stopped the bickering by getting into the front seat herself. “Kids,” she huffed, rolling her eyes at Taekwoon, who had a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“Just get in, both of you. We’re still driving out of town to take Jaehwan home, and it’s already 1am!” Soojin just felt too sleepy to put up with the boys’ arguing. The two immediately shut up at her outburst and got into the car, though, and they left to take Jaehwan home.

Soojin glanced at her best friends – they were sitting on either side, both looking at the window and ignoring each other. She wondered what happened between the two. They’d been ignoring each other ever since she got back to their table. She could also tell that Hakyeon would’ve left Jaehwan behind if she hadn’t offered for them to drive him home. Something was amiss between the two troublemakers; they were usually noisy and pranking each other and everyone else. Then again, that was years ago, and so much had happened in between.

She looked at Jaehwan more closely. He was already sleeping peacefully. Soojin’s heart softened at the sight. She saw less and less of that peaceful side of Jaehwan in the last few weeks they were together. The conflicted and violent personality who called himself Ken was often in control in those times.

“He really was violent,” Soojin whispered. Silence answered her, but she knew that Taekwoon was listening, so she continued. “Ken – that’s what he called himself. You guys never actually met him, though I think Hyuk might’ve. But whenever he was around, it was like a whole new person had taken over – one the complete opposite of the Jaehwan we all know. His eyes were filled with hate, and even his voice was lower and more menacing.” Soojin paused, rubbing her arms as she recalled the memories from that time.

"I see nothing but Jaehwan now, though. There's no hint of Ken anymore - even when he's asleep. If you'd seen how he used to look while he slept back then, you would've been really concerned. It was almost like he was possessed! Well, just like it is in movies. Demons aren't real, anyway," she yawned.

Soojin took one more glance at the boy before snuggling into her seat. I'm glad you're back, Jaehwan. You have no idea how much I missed you.

I'm back~ I was so busy the weekend after exams I didn't even get to post a chapter. But here's one now!

So Jaehwan makes his appearance, completing the boys! Yay~~

Aaaand~ the boys are looking HAWT with the Jekyll teaser photo! I'm so excited to hear the new songs... I'm really enjoying how they made use of the Jekyll & Hyde concept. Props to whoever came up with this concept.