s.c.s. ☆ j.jh ☆ ayakashi series | ✔

jaehyun [thirty-one]

The night before you were to be executing your plan that had too many things that could go wrong, you were taking a short respite at the Jungs' house. A chance for Jaehyun to say goodbye to his parents one last time, just in case, he had joked. You didn't find it funny at all.

Mrs. Jung had apparently been feeling nostalgic that night, as after dinner, she brought out various family photo albums. Her husband quickly explained why as you opened up the first one and were greeted by a black and white photo of a toddler in outdated clothes.

"A year ago, my father passed," he said. "These were all his albums."

"I'm sorry for your loss," you replied quietly, squeezing Jaehyun's hand.

Jaehyun rested his head against your shoulder as his eyes took in the photos spread across your lap. He reached forward to turn the page to reveal photos of his grandfather as a young man, probably around your boyfriend's age.

"Wow, you look just like him, Jae," you commented, staring at the pictures of his grandfather in awe. The likeliness was uncanny, they could have been twins if they weren't a generation apart. The same dimples, same nose, same eyes. It was remarkable.

Flipping to the next page of the album, you choked on your own throat as you actually recognized someone in the picture. And not Jaehyun's grandfather, but the man who had an arm around his shoulders. Johnny. He looked slightly younger; if he looked about thirty now, he looked to be in his late teens or early twenties in the picture. They seemed to be at some kind of festival or fair, Jaehyun's grandpa holding a waffle cone with three scoops, and a large Ferris wheel in the background. They were smiling broadly, laughing at something. It was a perfect snapshot, a moment of time frozen for eternity.

Jaehyun had recognized it as well, and called out to his dad. When Mr. Jung looked up from his own photo album to his son attentively, your boyfriend turned the book around to face him and tapped the picture.

"Who's that with Grandpa?"

Mr. Jung squinted as he looked at the picture, then shrugged, "Don't know. Look at the back and see if he wrote anything down."

You eagerly took the picture out, turning it over to look at the back. And sure enough, there was something written there.

Me and Youngho, young love at a summer festival, 19

As far as you could remember, Johnny had never been called or gone by Youngho around you, but looking at the picture once more it was undeniable that it was your Domeki friend.

"Dad, could I keep this photo?" Jaehyun requested, earning an inquisitively raised eyebrow from his father and tilted head from his mother.

"Sure, Jaehyun," he nodded. "Why, though?"

"I like how Grandpa looks," your boyfriend fibbed. "Young, happy, having fun with his friend. It's a nice way to remember him."

"That's lovely, Nini," his mother commented, reaching over from her perch on the arm of the chair that her husband was sat in to pat her son's cheek affectionately.

☆

Leaving the Jungs' house later that night, hand-in-hand with your boyfriend, you had another destination in mind before you were to head back to your apartment to rest up before the busy day you had planned tomorrow.

"Thank you for taking the photo for Johnny," you squeezed Jaehyun's hand tightly.

Jaehyun nodded, "I think it'll mean a lot more for him to have it than for it to sit in our dusty photo albums."

"Me too."

"And I know you would have stolen it if I hadn't asked for it nicely."

"Like you said, Johnny deserves it more."