The sandy shores felt cool beneath his feet as he strolled along the beach, letting the breeze caress his face. This was one of those rare times when he could let loose, relax, and simply think.
Yes—think! He never really had time to do something as simple as that, not with all the schedules, photoshoots, and practices consuming his days, weeks, and hours. He sighed softly and looked up at the stars twinkling high above.
"Is he going to be okay?" he whispered to himself.
"Should I call him?" he said again, but quickly shook his head.
"He must be busy. I don't want to bother him."
He shoved his hands into his pockets and continued staring at the sky. He didn't even know why he was feeling like this again. Why was he missing him again?
He began walking back toward his car. When he got there, he opened the trunk, where a carton of beer rested. He pulled one out, popped it open, and let the cool liquid dribble down his fingers. At first, he gulped it quickly, but his pace slowed as he continued.
Closing the trunk, he walked to the front of the car and perched on the hood, sipping his beer slowly while gazing at the night sky.
"Jae Hyun-ah, where do you think we'll be ten years from now?"
Jae Hyun turned to look at the other boy, whose face was sprinkled with beauty marks.
"Why do you ask?" he replied, letting his gaze wander over his sculpted features.
"I don't know... I guess I just suddenly started thinking about the future," the boy said with a reluctant smile.
Jae Hyun let out a soft chuckle, finally tearing his eyes away. He took another sip of his drink and smiled at the aftertaste.
"I don't know, Seo Joon... but what I do know is that we'll still be together. Always."
He grabbed Seo Joon's hand and squeezed it firmly as they stared into each other's eyes.
"Best friends forever," he said.
Seo Joon chuckled, pulling his hand away. "You're weird, Jae Hyun," he whispered with that sweet smile that never failed to make the older boy melt inside.
But Jae Hyun couldn't show how much that smile affected him. He just shrugged and took another swig of his beer. When he turned back to look at Seo Joon again—he was gone.
He exhaled heavily and drank more of the brownish liquid, thinking to himself how, for a while now, Seo Joon hadn't really been there... beside him.
Jae Hyun returned to the dorm late that night to find it silent. He walked toward the room he shared with Kelly, his fellow bandmate, but didn't go in. Instead, he turned and headed toward the other corridor—the one leading to Seo Joon's room.
He stood outside the door for what felt like ages before finally knocking.
There was no response.
He knocked again, and the door slowly creaked open to reveal another bandmate—Namin. His hair was a mess, eyes barely open, and lips cracked with dryness.
He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Jae Hyun... what are you doing? It's two a.m., man!"
Jae Hyun shifted on his feet, clearly uncomfortable. Talking to Namin, who was grumpy on a good day, much less when he'd just been woken up, was always a gamble. He almost turned to leave, but since he'd already risked Namin's wrath, he figured he might as well speak.
"Uh... sorry, Namin. Is Seo Joon back?"
Namin stared at him, incredulous. "Seriously, Jae Hyun? You woke me up at two a.m. to ask that?"
"I... I'm sorry, Namin."
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Didn't you know? He said he was doing a late-night shoot and would be staying at a hotel with the rest of the cast tonight."
"Oh..."
Jae Hyun hadn't known. Why hadn't Seo Joon told him?
"Looks like you didn't know," Namin muttered, shaking his head. "Didn't you guys talk today? You always talk."
"No, we didn't. I didn't want to bother him," Jae Hyun said, almost like he was talking to himself. He was so lost in thought, he didn't even notice Namin staring at him more closely.
"Jae Hyun... is everything okay between you and Seo Joon?"
He forced a smile. "Yeah, everything's fine, hyung."
He shrugged. "Sorry for waking you. Go back to sleep."
Jae Hyun bowed and slowly walked away, unaware of the sad, concerned eyes that watched him disappear down the hallway.
Thanks for Reading. Hope you enjoyed. You can purchase the full print copy of this book, available on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FJ1QB1DV
You can also enjoy my Ai animated Bl stories on my youtube channell: https://www.youtube.com/@Blstories4u
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