thirty one

"i will wait for you to love me again." -outer space / carry on, 5 seconds of summer.

——

the afternoon sunlight poured through the large windows of jihoon's apartment, soft music playing in the background.

the living room was a mess of snack wrappers, soda cans, and laughter—dokyeom and mingyu arguing about which movie to watch while joshua scrolled lazily through his phone.

jihoon sat on the couch, half-listening, half-distracted, his fingers idly tapping against his mug.

"alright, wooza," dokyeom said suddenly, grinning as he leaned over the back of the couch. "what are you sending her today?"

jihoon sighed, hiding a small smile. "i don't know. maybe nothing today."

dokyeom gasped dramatically. "what? no way! the streak can't end!"

"it's not a streak," jihoon muttered, though the corners of his mouth twitched. "i just don't want to push her."

joshua glanced at him gently. "you're giving her space. that's good. but don't forget—she's not ignoring you, jihoon. if she didn't want anything to do with you, she wouldn't have kept the flowers."

jihoon's gaze softened, his thoughts drifting. "yeah... i know."

the day passed in a blur of lighthearted noise—movies, teasing, and laughter echoing off the walls. but even in the middle of it all, jihoon's mind wandered.

he wondered what misun was doing right now. whether she smiled today. whether she saw something that reminded her of him the way everything reminded him of her.

it was late evening when a sudden knock came at his door.

the boys looked at each other.

"you expecting someone?" mingyu asked.

jihoon shook his head, getting up. "no."

when he opened the door, his driver stood there, holding a small paper envelope.

"i was asked to give this to you," he said.

"oh— thanks," jihoon replied, confused but polite. "who is it from?"

"i was asked not to say."

jihoon nodded, his brows furrowed in confusion as he closed the door and turned the envelope over in his hands. there was no note, no name, nothing.

"what's that?" dokyeom asked, leaning closer.

"i don't know."

jihoon opened it carefully. and then—his breath caught.

inside was a photo. slightly faded, the edges bent with age.

him and misun. school uniforms. sitting outside the convenience store near their old school. each holding a melting ice cream cone, grinning so wide their eyes were almost closed.

he could still remember the moment—the heat of the sun, her laughter when his ice cream fell, the way she'd leaned in close so their faces fit in the frame.

"is that...?" mingyu began.

jihoon nodded slowly, his throat tight. "yeah."

dokyeom's grin grew. "she sent you that?"

"looks like it," joshua said softly, watching jihoon's expression shift—shock melting into something warm, fragile, glowing.

jihoon couldn't stop smiling. really smiling.

the others watched, a quiet happiness settling in the room.

"i think," joshua said, a small smile tugging at his lips, "she's starting to forgive you."

jihoon traced the edge of the photo with his thumb, eyes soft. "god, i hope so."

and for the first time in weeks, his heart felt a little lighter.