Bittersweet - |Pepigyeom|

6 • An Old Friend ...

Hello my lovelies!

Dear God, it's been a while! I want to thank you for being patient with me and apologize for taking so long. It was a lack of inspiration, time and some personal things I had to deal with that kept me from writing the next chapter. Now I finally got around to doing it and couldn't be happier to show it to you now <3

I hope you haven't forgotten Jinyoung and Yugyeom and their story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Things are getting more serious slowly but surely, and a lot of background story is starting to get revealed. But see for yourself <3 This chapter is a bit shorter than the last ones, but only because I really wanted to update as quick as possible and was so excited for it! :')

I will definitely try not to take this long again to upload, haha! Please have trust in me and the fact that I'd never abandon this story. And if you've read this long ass monologue until now, I wish you a lot of fun reading!

Love, Aki <3

If there is one thing Yugyeom can recall, it's the words his father once said to him.

It's easy – he doesn't even have to think hard about it. It's like they're etched into his memory like a burn mark. He can even remember how the rain felt on his skin; the sticky feeling of his jeans glued to his legs like wet paper. The chemical smell of berries from the air refresher that was dangling from the rear-view mirror. The deep laugh of his father as they slipped into the car, pulling the doors closed, completely soaked after walking half a mile through the city centre.

"Were they really worth it?" Yugyeom recalls himself asking, out of breath from hurrying to get out of the rain. It's a windy September day, after the summer of his graduation. He's eighteen, hair died a light brown, a compromise of making use of the freedom of finally having finished school and the fear of looking ridiculous with coloured hair. His jeans are ripped and his cheeks rosy.

"Of course," his father says and holds up the bouquet. "Your mother will love them."

He's eighteen and done with school and not a big fan of leaving the house, but his father is a big fan of making him leave the house, so he was dragged onto a shopping spree without any further consent. The trunk is full of groceries and they would have made it back to the car just in time not to get wet, but his father was so determined to get Yugyeom's mother some flowers that they will now both catch a cold. Yugyeom's not too sure how his mom will think about that.

"They're pretty," he still admits, even though he's tired – hasn't slept at all last night after binging a tv show -, a bit annoyed by the weather and definitely cold. They're a big bunch of red roses. Everything about them screams confession in a romance movie, except his parents have been married for almost 20 years.

His father nods, a big smile on his face. Yugyeom would never admit it out loud, but the way his father smiles, or how carefully he holds the roses is kind of cute.

"Maybe I should have gotten some chocolate," his dad muses out loud and Yugyeom throws his head back, hitting the seat, sighing loudly and overly dramatic.

"Dad!" he says and raises his eyebrows. "Are you serious?"

"I know you ate my chocolate, you better not say anything at all," his father jokingly threatens, then lays the bouquet down in the backseat and turns on the engine. "Someday you will understand."

"Love?" Yugyeom sighs again, laughing. "We're not in a movie, dad! Is that our father-son talk that's been long due?"

"I'm just saying!" his father defends himself, sharing Yugyeom's laugh. "You'll see for yourself. Oh, I'd love to see you when you're all over someone. You'd buy a whole ocean of flowers, so just pretend I'm an awkward dad and –"