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Chae Yoojung continued to play with the hand warmer while sitting on the balcony. A few hours ago, LVS won the world championship again. After a little celebration they had with teammates and coaches, everyone except him went to sleep.
He felt like he should stay awake and think, and an early November cold was keeping him away from sleep.
Today’s matches weren’t great from his point of view. They might have won 3-2, but in all the losses, the reason was him. Other members might not say that after all this was a team game, and as much as he did make mistakes, other lanes made mistakes too. But he knew he made the mistakes he wouldn’t have made if the same game had been played a year ago.
Slowly losing the touch and reaction wasn’t something new in this job. Due to this, as people got older, they would quit and leave their place to the younger generations. Chae Yoojung was the abnormal case. That he could still play in a professional team, becoming the face of LVS.
But he felt his quitting time had come too.
Retire…
Chae Yoojung glanced at his phone, he couldn’t call Yoo Jihan because of the time difference. But for a moment he wondered how he would react if he suddenly said he was retiring.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you after you retire.”
He remembered words he said with a confident voice a few years ago. Chae Yoojung placed his hands on his cheeks. He knew they were red, but the reason wasn’t cold.
He put his hand warmer in his pocket and took his phone. He should sleep too. Tomorrow, they were returning to Korea.
✩✩✩
The airport was filled with their fans, reporters, and people who wanted to congratulate them for winning another world cup. Some fans had cameras with them to take photos. Some of them had paper or their picture and pen so the players could sign them.
Chae Yoojung signed some of them; he listened to their congratulations and answered them as pleasantly as possible. However, there wasn’t enough time to spare for everyone. He could see Coach Yoo Kyungseok pulling the youngest, who was deeply bowing his head. Their manager was gesturing they should slowly move and leave the airport. All of the team followed their staff. Since he was the last in the line, raising his hand, he waved to everyone once more.
When all of them sat down in the car, their top line pulled his mask and talked. “Crazy. There are more people than we won a gold medal in the Asian Games.”
“Hyung, I got goosebumps.”
“Since our win yesterday, you got them. Don’t tell a lie.”
Chae Yoojung acted as if all the talk was background music and didn’t talk; he only focused on his phone. Nobody in the team found this weird. In the first place, they didn't have enough age difference to stop them from talking to him informally or becoming very friendly. And at some point, people in his team started to speak to him very carefully.
“What will we be doing now?”
“Going back to the dorm. If you want to go home, you can; it’s vacation after all. But pick up all your belongings from the dorm before going back home.”
The subject turned to what they would be doing on their vacation. Everybody in the car seemed excited for a time without a job.
✩✩✩
Yoo Jihan smiled to chat filled with cute emojis and the teasing tone. The last message was saying I will drive the car, so I can’t answer, hyung . However, it wasn't a problem. After a little waiting, he could see his lover's face.
While waiting for him, he checked Yoojung's fan cafe one more time. There was a lot of analysis about matches, and there were some new pictures people uploaded. Yoo Jihan downloaded them too. He looked at the comments; they were generally writing about what kind of legend he was.
Hearing someone pressing the password, Yoo Jihan put down his phone to welcome him. The door opened, and Chae Yoojung, who was carrying the winter’s cold, stepped in. He put down his backpack and suitcase. Before Yoo Jihan could say anything, he hugged him, burying his face to his shoulder.
A joy spread on Yoo Jihan’s face. He embraced him, slowly caressing his head and messing with his hair. When his fingers reached the nape, he gently pulled hair. Chae Yoojung obeyed him and raised his head from there.
After seeing his face, Yoo Jihan planted kisses on it. Edge on his eyes, cheeks, nose, and lips. With every single touch, Chae Yoojung blushed more.
When his face turned to the prettiest color, Yoo Jihan stopped what he was doing and said. “Welcome back.”
“I’m back, hyung.”
After Chae Yoojung took a bath, they lay down on the couch and opened the TV. However, at some point, Yoo Jihan muted the sound, so only color changing reflections on the walls showed that the TV was still on. In the quiet night, they were hugging each other.
“Hyung, when do you have free time?” He asked with a sleepy voice, the hands rubbing his head and cheeks making him sleepy.
“This time I took three days off. Why?”
“Let’s celebrate your birthday.” Chae Yoojung rubbed his head on Yoo Jihan’s chest. “We couldn’t celebrate it on time again, but I want to do it.”
Yoo Jihan pulled his cheek. “What we could do about it, you were working. And you already gave me the gift.”
“Not enough, I want to celebrate with a cake.”
“Alright.” Yoo Jihan answered happily and sincerely.
Hearing the answer he wanted to hear, Chae Yoojung got up. Due to Yoo Jihan’s act, his hair got messy, his face was decorated with a pinkish color, and he was slowly blinking his eyes because of sleepiness. Despite his age, he looked very cute. He reached for the remote control and closed the TV.
“Let’s sleep.” He pulled his hyung so he could get up too.
Yoo Jihan clasped their hands as they slowly walked to the bedroom in darkness.
✩✩✩
Because of time changes, Chae Yoojung woke up earlier than usual. The sun had just started to rise. The sky was turned red, filling the room as well. Yoo Jihan was hugging him as much as possible while making sure he was fully covered with a blanket.
He got closer to him. A handsome face, scattered hair, and closed eyes. Yoo Jihan was stunning. How long he was seeing his face or in a relationship wasn’t important. Every time Chae Yoojung saw his face, his only thought was how breathtaking he was. He had a feeling that these thoughts wouldn’t change even after they turned two old men.
Noticing that he was thinking far too much, he blinked a few times in order to clear his mind. However, his thoughts didn’t stop. Chae Yoojung wanted to see him every morning and every night. He wanted to sleep next to him and woke up next to him.
The couples that have been dating the same amount of time as they have been dating were marrying or already living in the same house. However, they were only sleeping in each other's houses from time to time. Half of the reason was Chae Yoojung’s job; he needed to live in the dorm when it was tournament time. The other half was Yoo Jihan, who didn't want to stay in his home when the owner wasn't there and gave him trouble.
Retire… If he retired, would Yoo Jihan live with him?
Not only sleeping together, but he could see him off and welcome him. Every day he could watch him dress up in a white shirt and black pants before going to his job. Just thinking about this and that made him excited.
Chae Yoojung snuggled him. He really wanted to talk about his retirement and their future. Although his first priority was still celebrating Yoo Jihan’s birthday. He was blissful about everything waiting for them in the future.
✩✩✩
In the morning, they made toast and eggs for their breakfast. Sitting face to face they started to eat their meals.
“How was Germany?” Yoo Jihan asked; he wasn’t waiting for a good answer. However, he didn’t want to eat his meal in silence.
“Umm, hyung… I couldn’t see that much.” Chae Yoojung said and added. “Others were complaining about how they had a chance but couldn’t tour Europe.”
Yoo Jihan smiled. That was the answer he thought he would be hearing.
“Hearing their complaints, the players, whose hometowns are in Europe, gave us a list of places we could visit. I took note of them too. Maybe later we could go together.”
“Sure, why not? Our trip to the United States was fun; I’m sure if we went to Europe, it would be fun too.”
As they continued to talk about the future, they finished their meals. Chae Yoojung rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher.
“Hyung, do you have any cafe you want to go to?” Since it wasn’t a surprise party, Chae Yoojung preferred to choose the place together. That was why he asked him.
“Hmm…” Yoo Jihan raised his eyes to look at him. “Jiye noona said there is a cafe that sells good cakes. Why not try there?”
“Where is it?”
Yoo Jihan opened his map and showed the place. It wasn’t that close, but they could go with a car. Near the cafe, there was a park too. After they ate, they could walk a little bit. And maybe then they could sit there, and Chae Yoojung talked about his retirement.
“It looks good, hyung. Let’s try there.”
Before Chae Yoojung moved away, Yoo Jihan held his wrist. “Yoojung-ah, we are doing this so we could celebrate my birthday right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I want a gift.” Yoo Jihan placed his hands on his shoulders and pulled him until their foreheads were touching each other. He watched Chae Yoojung’s ears turn red and smiled faintly.
“Hyung…” Chae Yoojung was unable to move; he only held the chair.
“A kiss.” Yoo Jihan’s eyes sparkled, he seemed to be having a lot of fun. “You will give me my gift, right? I want a kiss.”
Chae Yoojung couldn’t even take a deep breath to calm himself. As much as his face, his stomach was burning with fire. His focus was on Yoo Jihan, on his calm face, which was different from his. He knew what he should do, but it was so hard to think, let alone move. In the end, he brushed his lips to his cheeks. It felt soft and tender.
Yoo Jihan looked at his face. After seeing Chae Yoojung’s expression, he was thrilled. However, he didn’t stop there. “Not enough—” He tilted his head and put his lips together. “Yoojung-ah, I want more gifts.”
Chae Yoojung didn’t turn him down.
✩✩✩
When they went to the cafe, they ordered a small cake and two coffees. The owner, who heard that this was for celebrating the birthday, gave them a box of cookies too. They also celebrated Yoo Jihan’s birthday too.
Yoo Jihan and Chae Yoojung split the cake and the cookies. While eating, they talked about not so important things. It was a peaceful evening with the person he loves.
“Hyung, can we walk a little bit?” Chae Yoojung asked while fixing his light beige scarf.
Yoo Jihan agreed to his request. Since it was a winter day, night had already come, so when they reached the park, he held Chae Yoojung’s hand. The hand he was holding trembled, but he didn’t let it go. Instead, he tightened his hold. They strolled through the park.
In the end, they sat down on the bench.
“Hyung. I’m planning to retire.” With his calm voice, he seemed to be talking about something so simple. “Of course, I haven't talked with the director or coach yet, but I don’t think my thoughts about this will change.”
Yoo Jihan didn’t say anything, only drew circles on Chae Yoojung’s hand. He already knew this day would come, and whatever he chose, Yoo Jihan was planning to support him. It was just regrettable that he couldn’t watch him anymore.
Chae Yoojung continued to explain himself. “You know, this world cup we win 3-2, right? While playing those matches, I felt like there were too many shortcomings in my playing. And I think I couldn’t overcome those just by practicing.”
“So you started to think about retiring?”
“Yes. As I said, I need to talk to the coach and the director, but… I don’t think my body will keep it up anymore.”
Yoo Jihan smiled affectionately and fixed Chae Yoojung’s hair. “Alright. Don’t worry about the future. I’ll take care of you.” He recently got a promotion. So by himself, he could look after both of them.
Chae Yoojung laughed and blushed. “Then, hyung, can I ask for something?”
“Sure.”
“Can we live together?” He fiddled with the hand he was holding. “If you don’t want to live in my house, we could look for a new place. You don’t need to answer me right now either. Just think about it.”
“Alright. I will think about it.”
Since his answer wasn’t negative, Chae Yoojung’s face filled with hope and looked brighter than usual. Yoo Jihan took a glance around and kissed him.
His answer was already decided.