waterfall // lee juyeon

21

seohyun's pov

the four of us steamed some 饅頭 (pronounced man-tou) and took out some soy milk from the fridge for breakfast. as hyunjae began taking the buns out of the steamer pot and onto plates, juyeon spoke up.

"what are those things?" juyeon asked, pointing at the mantou.

"this is mantou," younghoon explained. "it's basically just a steamed bun that's a pretty common breakfast food in taiwan. the ones that aren't circular are just plain, and the circular ones are filled with black sesame."

"ooh," juyeon nodded in understanding. 

hyunjae put the mantou out on the table, along with the soy milk, and the four of us began eating. we ate in silence, with the only sounds coming from us being our chewing and swallowing.

"that was good," juyeon smiled as he finished off his last mantou. "thanks for the food guys."

"no problem," hyunjae grinned as he cleared our plates and cups. 

"i'm stuffed," i flopped onto the couch. "what time is it now?"

younghoon checked his phone. "a little past seven."

"okay, i'm going to sleep," i yawned. "wake me up in a few hours."

"seriously?" hyunjae raised his eyebrows. "what happened to 'i'm going to drink a bunch of caffeine and try to stay awake so i don't crash?'"

"this is for the better of my health, and plus that was your fault so shut up," i retorted, lying down in a more comfortable position on the couch.

"we'll wake you up," juyeon smiled at me as he grabbed a nearby blanket and draped it over me. "rest well seohyun."

"thanks juyeon," i smiled back before closing my eyes and drifting off into dream land.

*

sunlight flooded my vision as i tentatively opened my eyes to see hyunjae staring at me. 

"what time is it?" i sat up, scratching my head.

"it's two in the afternoon," he answered. 

"wait WHAT?" i squawked. "hyunjae, didn't i say to wake me up in a few hours? SEVEN hours is not a few hours!"

"i did it for the better of your health," he mocked my past words.

i sighed. "i don't know how we're related."

"neither do i."

"shut up," i grumbled. 

"so? you said it first," hyunjae stuck his tongue out at me.

"you are seriously like a five year old," i mumbled. "anyways, where did juyeon and younghoon go?"

"they left," he replied casually as he flopped down next to me on the couch.

i turned to face him. "wait what?"

hyunjae sighed. "younghoon has things to do, juyeon has to pack. don't worry, you'll see him again soon."

"how am i going to see him again soon?" i panicked. "i didn't even say bye properly! he's going back to korea tomorrow and who knows when i'll see him again you asshole!"

hyunjae rolled his eyes. "what a drama queen," he told me. "check your camera roll. juyeon made a video for you."

i snatched my phone from our living room coffee table and immediately unlocked my phone to check my camera roll's contents. my brother snickered at me as i did so. "geez, excited much?"

"lee jaehyun shut the fuck up before i actually kill you," i glared at him. i opened up my camera roll and saw an unfamiliar video at the very bottom of all my photos and videos. i clicked on it to see juyeon's face pop up.

"hi seohyun!" past juyeon smiled. "sorry for not saying a proper goodbye, but sangyeon hyung was going to kill me if i didn't go back by twelve. don't worry about me -- younghoon is going to give me a ride back so i don't die. if you're up for one last goodbye, meet me at the airport tomorrow at ten am. don't be late!" he waved and then the video ended.

i slouched down on the couch as hyunjae spoke up. "you're gonna go, right?"

"of course," i replied. "can you drive me?"

hyunjae snorted. "i thought you said you didn't trust me with a car?"

i threw a pillow at him. "well...maybe i do now. and i can't just get younghoonie to come here and drive me. it's too much of a hassle, especially since he probably won't want to wake up and get me. please hyunjae? pleeeeeeeaaaaaaassssssseeee?"

hyunjae sighed. "okay fine," he finally said, making me squeal in delight. "might as well see juyeon one last time. oh, and potentially see sunwoo slap you. that should be entertaining."

"shut up," i hit him before putting a pillow on his lap and lying down. we sat there in silence for a few moments until i thought of something again. 

"hyunjae," i said quietly. "do you really have to leave?"

my brother bit his lip in thought. "seohyun, you know i have to leave. i have to go to university."

"can't you just stay here?" i asked. 

"why are you suddenly bringing this up?" hyunjae mumbled. "i thought you already were at peace with the fact that i was leaving."

"you're leaving in like two weeks," i said. "away to korea. in a week all your stuff will be in boxes and suitcases. who am i supposed to talk to and rely on when you're gone?"

"seohyun, listen to me," hyunjae said firmly, lifting me off the pillow and into a hug. "you have chaeryeong. and you always have me. i'll always be here for you, even if i'm in another country. i know that it might be difficult when i'm gone, but you'll always have people around you who care about you. and maybe now that i'm gone and people won't associate you with me all the time, you can find new people and make new memories."

"are you telling me to throw my old friends away?" i scoffed.

"again, you're such a drama queen," hyunjae rolled his eyes. "no, i'm not telling you that. i'm just telling you that maybe you can break out of your shell and maybe make a new friend. i'll always be here for you. chae and hoonie too. don't stress too much about me leaving. one year will fly by and before you know it we'll both be in korea together."

i let go of his embrace and took a deep breath. "i know. i'll try."

"good," hyunjae grinned. "agh, ew, can't believe i just did that," he pretended to throw up.

"get used to it," i smiled as i wrapped my arms around him again.

a/n: hope this update was okay! i've been busy lately and waterfall is about to end:( not much left to say but if you want a life update, check out my other book, my online diary (it's real!)

{written on october 15th, 2020}