You slowly inserted your key into the key slot of the front door and turned the lock as quietly as you could while silently hoping that no one was awake. You had intentionally stayed out a little longer, even after you had sorted out your thoughts, because you wanted to avoid any questions for tonight. If you could, you wanted to avoid talking at all. You were sure that you would cry if you thought about it long enough, let alone talk about it.

You couldn’t understand why you felt exceptionally sad at the thought of Kibum leaving. You knew that it wasn’t goodbye forever as the both of you would still be friends but whenever you thought about being without him around, your chest would tighten and you would find it hard to breathe.

Luck wasn’t on your side though, the moment you unlocked the front door and pushed it opened, you were immediately greeted by Jinki and Taemin at the front door. They looked slightly worried but mostly relieved to see you.

“Noona! Where have you been?!” Taemin said as he pulled you into a tight hug. “We were so worried when Kibum hyung came home without you and just locked himself in his room. And when we tried to reach you on your phone, it wasn’t switched on! We just didn’t know what to do!” Taemin rambled on.

“Sorry guys. I wasn’t in the mood to talk so I turned my phone off.” You explained and started to walk in the direction of your room. “Goodnight.”

You heard soft sighs behind you but thankfully, they seemed to have understood that you did not want to talk and allowed you to go back to your room without further questions. Your head was beginning to hurt so you quickly got ready for bed.

After tossing and turning in bed for what seemed like hours, you gave up on the notion of sleeping and went outside for a glass of water. You silently stepped out onto the patio and sat on one of the chairs outside even though it was freezing cold and you weren’t wearing a jacket. You stared blankly at the buildings opposite and slowly let your emotions overwhelm you. You were going to lose another important person in your life and this time, it would be of your own doing. Tears spilled out of your eyes and ran down your cheeks. You quickly brushed them away. You didn’t deserve to cry.

Just then, you heard the glass door behind you slide open and felt the warm air from inside the house rush out, warming you up a little. You sensed another presence step out onto the patio and the door slid close again before the person came and stood behind you. Before you could do anything, you felt a coat being draped over your shoulders and you tilted your head upwards to see who it was that joined you. 

“What are you doing out here?” Jonghyun asked while rubbing his hands together and breathing into them to try and warm them up. He moved from behind you to take a seat in the chair beside you.

You sniffled as your eyes followed him and tried to get your tears under control but ended up crying even harder instead. He was slightly taken aback at your response but pulled you into his chest a little while after. You continued to cry while clutching onto the material of his soft pullover that was exposed under his jacket that he probably threw on to come outside and so didn’t bother zipping up.

He allowed you to cry until your tears ran dry. All the while, patting your back soothingly. You slowly calmed down and relaxed your grip on his shirt. He was content just sitting there with you without asking you any other questions. Eventually, the peace of the night overtook you and you fell asleep against Jonghyun’s chest.

Jonghyun felt you relax completely against his chest and heard your breathing slow down. He looked down at you and brushed away the loose strands of hair that were covering your face to see that you were asleep. Instead of nudging you awake so that you can go back to your room and sleep, he carefully shifted and lifted you off the chair bridal style. You shifted slightly in your sleep but settled back almost immediately, burying yourself closer to the warmth which was actually Jonghyun’s chest.

He smiled a little at your adorable form and headed back into the house with you in his arms. He went into your room and tucked you under the covers before going to check on Minhyuk. He saw that Minhyuk was awake so he carefully carried him outside and fed him so you could get some rest.

When he eventually returned to the room he shared with Kibum and Jinki, he was greeted by Kibum’s sleeping form and Jinki’s questioning gaze. He understood the question even without Jinki having to ask. “I found her crying outside on the patio, without a jacket. I stayed with her until she finished crying and fell asleep. She’s asleep in her room now.” Jonghyun whispered his answer, careful not to wake Kibum.

He nodded his head at Kibum, asking back an unspoken question. Jinki sighed softly before answering. “He wasn’t any better than her. He just cried until he got too tired and fell asleep without saying anything. I think ------ must have spoken to Kibum about it just now.”

Jonghyun nodded. He had overheard what his manager had told Jinki to tell ------ and so he understood what Jinki was talking about. He had never seen Kibum so distraught before and if Jinki wasn’t there, he wouldn’t have known what to do. It was Jinki who had offered some sort of comfort to Kibum when he was crying, and it was Jinki who had told him to go look for you when he heard the bedroom door open and close in the middle of the night.

“I guess the both of them will have it tough until they work things out. I feel so sad for the both of them. I hope they will be able to resolve everything before we leave.” Jonghyun said as he crawled into bed beside Kibum.

“Mmm. Yeah. I hope so too.” Jinki answered sleepily from the other side of Kibum. The sleepiness in his voice had masked the worry that he actually felt though. They were leaving in two days and if Kibum was to leave without working things out with you, he would feel like he was totally responsible for it.

===============

I'm still here guys!!! I must apologize once again for the late update. Chinese/Lunar New Year has descended upon us and has overtaken my life!! 

Really really really crazy busy with preparations and starting from today, visiting!! In fact, I just came home for a brief break in between visiting and quickly typed finished this chapter so that I can give you guys an update!!

Does anyone, other than me, celebrate the Chinese/Lunar New Year??? 

Anyway, 새해 복 많이 받으세요 to everyone!!