Park Chae-won took a deep breath, wiping her still-red eyes.
"If you won't go… then I'll just stay here until you agree. The party's tonight, I can miss it, but I'm not leaving."
Han Jaemin raised an eyebrow, looking tired. Well, no surprise there. This ridiculous situation only seemed to get worse.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"I'm serious. Don't even bother trying to send me away."
He sighed, running a hand through his messy hair.
"I can't. I already have plans today."
That was when the back door slammed open, and Kim Hayeon came back to the front of the shop, holding a stack of papers. She froze for a moment, the thick lenses of her glasses locking onto the scene before her.
"Plans?"
Her gaze darted between Han Jaemin and the young woman sitting at the table, and then she continued.
"So that's it? A pretty girl asks you out and you start making excuses?"
Park Chae-won's eyes widened in shock.
"It's not… it's not like that–"
But Kim Hayeon had already decided on the story in her own head. She set the papers down on the counter and crossed her arms, her face twisting with indignation, or something that could just as well have been an act.
"Han Jaemin, you're unbelievable. What kind of man turns down an invitation like that? Don't tell me your so-called 'plans' are just holing yourself up in that cramped little box you call home, like always?"
He nearly choked.
"Hey, wait. That's not–"
"Not what?!" Kim Hayeon cut him off, slapping the counter as if delivering her verdict.
"You're taking her. It's the least you can do. What, you think life is just sweeping floors and baking bread?"
Suddenly, everything went quiet. Park Chae-won blushed furiously, not knowing what to do with her hands, while Han Jaemin closed his eyes for a second, a vein threatening to show on his forehead.
'Why do I only meet troublesome people?'
He opened his eyes slowly, drawing in a long breath as if trying to gather what little patience he had left, if he had any at all.
"…You two are driving me insane."
Park Chae-won waved her hands nervously in front of her chest.
"It's not like that! I just… I just wanted to thank you, that's all!"
"That's all, she says," Kim Hayeon shot back with a mischievous smile. "Then it's decided, Jaemin-ajusshi. You're going out with her tonight."
Han Jaemin frowned.
"I already said I can't. I've got things to do."
"Like what? Watch something on that old TV and talk to yourself?"
Kim Hayeon propped her chin on her hands, leaning over the counter.
'This brat really doesn't shut up, huh? Since when did she start talking back this much?'
Park Chae-won tried to step in again.
"If… if he's really busy, I don't want to bother–"
"Don't fall for that, unnie!" Kim Hayeon cut her off again, winking. "He doesn't do anything all day. I bet the most he does is lie in bed and sleep."
"I'm still standing right here, you know," Jaemin muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Great, then you heard me. You're going with her."
Hayeon adjusted her glasses, her tone full of authority.
"End of discussion."
A heavy silence followed. Jaemin shut his eyes, inhaled deeply, then exhaled.
"…You two really won't leave me alone, huh?"
Kim Hayeon grinned, victorious.
"Not a chance."
In the end, Jaemin gave in. Not right away though, only after several long minutes of Kim Hayeon's relentless teasing and Park Chae-won's quiet persistence. At last, he let out a weary sigh.
"…Fine. I'll go."
"See? Wasn't that hard." Hayeon clapped once, satisfied, like she had just won a bet.
Park Chae-won, meanwhile, straightened in her chair. She looked more relieved than happy, but there was something different shining in her eyes. Slowly, she lifted her bag and pulled out a small card, offering it to him with both hands.
"I… didn't even get to introduce myself properly. My name is Park Chae-won, I'm twenty-five, I work as a financial analyst at an insurance company. The job's a little boring, but I like it… I like numbers, you know?"
She laughed softly, looking away before adding.
"I also like walking in parks… and reading. Especially romance novels."
Han Jaemin blinked, glancing from the card to her like it was something absurd.
'…Are you handing me your résumé?'
Her cheeks flushed lightly as she realized her own excitement, and she went on.
"It's just… I thought it would be good for you to know who I really am. After all… you saved my life."
Kim Hayeon, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed, didn't miss the chance.
"Well, look at that. A business card and everything. Seems like someone's really interested in you, Jaemin-ajusshi."
"Shut up," he muttered, turning his head away, though he couldn't quite hide the discomfort on his face.
Park Chae-won only laughed again, shyly, hiding part of her face behind the coffee cup.
That was when Kim Hayeon grabbed her bag from behind the counter.
"Well, I'll leave you two alone. Looks like you don't need an audience anymore."
"Wait, what?"
Han Jaemin's eyes shot up, incredulous.
"Me and the other two are heading out through the back door. Lock up properly, okay, ajusshi?"
She winked mischievously before calling the employees to follow her.
The chime of the back door echoed seconds later, leaving the bakery in an oddly heavy silence.
Jaemin looked at the card in his hand, then at Park Chae-won, who was still watching him with a soft smile.
She stirred the now-cold coffee she had barely touched, as if gathering courage before speaking again.
"By the way… the Black Lotus party is tonight at nine. It's a bit late, but it's formal, you know? Suits and everything."
Han Jaemin lifted his eyes, his brow furrowed.
"…Fine."
She nodded, her subtle smile returning.
"We could go together, if you don't mind."
He let out a chuckle.
"I don't have a car."
"No problem, I can take us both."
She answered almost immediately, leaning forward slightly.
There was a pause. The way she said it, straightforward, as if the decision had already been made, made Jaemin squeeze the card in his hand.
"Then… give me your address. I'll come pick you up."
Park Chae-won finished, her gaze locked firmly on his.
For a moment, he thought about refusing, about throwing out any excuse just to escape. But the determination in her eyes was clear.
In the end, he only let out a heavy sigh, leaning back in his chair.
"…Alright."
Park Chae-won's eyes lit up, and she quickly pulled out her phone to type, as if she had just won a small victory.
Han Jaemin ran a hand over his face, regretting it before he'd even opened his mouth.
'Damn it.'
***
When he returned home that afternoon, Han Jaemin had no choice but to throw all his clothes onto the bed, searching for something he could possibly wear to the party.
"Formal… something formal…"
But no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find anything even remotely appropriate.
A couple of hoodies here, some old shirts there. Han Jaemin wasn't exactly the type to buy new clothes often. In fact, his newest piece of clothing was from exactly eight months ago, when one of his pants had ripped in the washing machine. Maybe it was just age catching up with it, or maybe the machine had rusted so badly its rough edges shredded the fabric. Either way, he hadn't had a choice but to buy a replacement.
He put on the first shirt, far too casual. The second had an old coffee stain that, honestly, looked more like a map. He pulled a dark blue blazer from the pile and tried it over a T-shirt. The reflection staring back at him looked like some shady salesman about to unload a junk car on an unlucky customer.
Tsk.
He clicked his tongue and peeled the clothes off. When he reached for the fourth shirt in the pile, the whole stack toppled to the floor.
"Damn it."
He crouched down, stretching his hand to pick them up. That's when he noticed a wooden box, no bigger than the span of three palms, peeking out from beneath the bed. Old, dark wood, its lid covered in dust.
He had forgotten he'd put it there.
For a few seconds he just stared, then reached out for it. He carried it to his desk and set it down.
Carefully, he opened it, just to make sure the contents were still inside. And of course, unsurprisingly, they were.
A black suit, a classic. Folded meticulously and sealed in a clear plastic cover. Beside it, squeezed into a tiny space, were two papers he carefully lifted out. They were photographs.
In the first, four men and two women smiled beneath a yellowed sky. They stood side by side, arms wrapped around one another, dressed in gray uniforms with their names stitched in, faint traces of ash clinging to their clothes.
An eighteen-year-old Han Jaemin was at the center, crouched on one knee, smiling so brightly that anyone who saw the picture would probably think it was fake.
He flipped the photo over.
[Seoul – Mapo District
Date: July 6, 2015
First Rift Clearing Completed – Rank F, Tempest Guild]
He smiled faintly, staring at the slip of paper.
"Things were so much simpler back then."
Han Jaemin slid the other photo to the front. It was a little blurry, low-quality, probably taken with an old phone. The image showed him, asleep on a school desk, while next to him a boy with dark brown hair pulled faces at the camera.
His heart skipped a beat. He turned the photo over.
[April 2012 – Classroom 1-3
Your birthday, and of course… you're sleeping again. Meanwhile, I'm here, pulling overtime like always.
PS: One day I'll collect interest on all these hours I've spent just waiting on you.
– Bae Taeyang]
"You spent more time in my classroom than your own. I don't even know how you managed to graduate."
Han Jaemin stared at the photograph for long seconds. Then he crouched down, resting his elbows on his knees and burying his head between them.
"What the hell am I doing…?"
The question slipped out suddenly, in a whisper so low he wasn't even sure he wanted to say it out loud.
It was hard. Of course it was. For Han Jaemin, Bae Taeyang had been everything. His sun, his oxygen, his happiness, the reason he got up every morning. The reason the world became a little more bearable when they were together. The simple reason he even wanted to live. He could even say that without him, Han Jaemin was nothing.
Well… he had already been nothing for a while now.
Bae Taeyang was dead.