My Last Name

➖ 5➖

The second the last client was out of the clinic Jeongguk turned around the open sign, then sighed as he returned to the front counter and immediately sprawled across it's surface. "God! I am so glad that tomorrow's Saturday! Finally a half day!" Jeongguk cheered but stopped when Taehyung turned the chair around to face him, looking very serious. "What?"

"I have to go back to New York tomorrow."

"Oh..." Jeongguk knew Taehyung had to go back, he had a great job there, but over the past two weeks he'd gotten so used to having Tae around that the thought of him going sort of upset Jeongguk...

"I'd like to come back."

'What?' Jeongguk just stared at him for a moment.

"It won't be for a few months because I have a some big meetings to work through, but when I am able to,  I'd like to come back here. Can I?"

Jeongguk moved so he was resting against the lower counter, watching him in surprise, a small fluttering filled his stomach. "Of course." he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

The tiniest glimmer of a smile crossed Tae's lips.

Jeongguk was trying to not think about him going so he put on a cheerful expression. The optimist in Jeongguk said Taehyung was going to keep in contact, but the realist and pessimist in him said that he was going to go back to New York, serve him the papers, and laugh with his high class buddies about the gullible small town vet whose heart he played around with. Then he mentally hit himself because he felt like such an idiot. He was the one who hadn't wanted to have anything to do with Taehyung, and now he was upset because he was going to go back to New York.

"Do you want me to drop you off at the airport or something?" Jeongguk asked cheerfully.

Taehyung fixed him with one of his most intense gazes and shook his head. "My flight is for 5 a.m. I know you'd hate to be up that early."

"Oh... well then. I guess I'll say bye now."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Letting me in."

Jeongguk just smiled at him and suddenly the words were pouring out of his mouth before he could stop them. "You know, when you come back you could stay with me if you wanted to. I have an extra bed and..."

"Yes." Taehyung said quickly, stopping Jeongguk's ramble. It took a second for him to find his voice, so, instead he just smiled at him and nodded.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later then," Jeongguk said, his hands shaking ever so slightly. "Have a good flight."

As Jeongguk turned to leave, Taehyung grasped his hand and stopped him, pulling him close. In the breath of a second, lips brushed against Jeongguk's cheek, and then Taehyung was gone.

Jeongguk would have called the moment cheesy if he hadn't been blushing all the way to the roots of his hair. Glancing over at Tae's car, Jeongguk watched him turn on the sleek machine and pull out of the parking lot.

▪▪▪▪▪▪

When Taehyung got out of the airport he hurried to his car, and once the door was securely shut, got a hold of Daniel.

"I'm back."

"Good, I just got off the phone with Quebec." he replied quickly, sounding hurried.

"What's the prognosis?" Tae asked.

"If the project goes the way it is, we could retire for the rest of our lives."

A small smile crossed Tae's lips as he went straight to the office.