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Yun Seo didn’t reply right away, so Tae Hyun let her have her silence. He didn’t need to convince her of anything. He grabbed his suitcase from the closet and–
“Okay. I get it. You do what you have to, oppa. I’ll be here for you no matter what.”
Tae Hyun smiled. “Thanks, Yun Seo. I love you.”
“I love you, too, oppa.”
After showering, packing, cleaning up the apartment, and eating again, Jason, Tae Hyun, and the Songs headed to Incheon to catch their flight across the Pacific. Tae Hyun was a restless spirit as he wandered through the airport. Despite getting so much sleep, he was still worn out. It made most of the trip a blur. But the Songs sat in first class with them, which made Tae Hyun comfortable enough to sleep for most of the flight.
When they finally arrived at LAX, Jason abused their celebrity status to avoid a long walk through the International Arrivals terminal, instead talking their way into an escorted trip through a series of back hallways used by staff and VIPs. They still had a short distance across the sidewalk from the exit to the waiting SUV, but no one knew they were there, so no press brigade was waiting to pounce on them.
It was probably the jet lag, but being back in Los Angeles didn’t feel any different than when Tae Hyun was in Seoul. Maybe it was because the city had become so familiar. Maybe he had chased the promise of comfort across the world’s largest ocean for nothing. Wouldn’t that be something? Was there nowhere in the world that he’d feel comfortable anymore? Was he destined to always be looking over his shoulder? No, that was just paranoia. But the thought that he might’ve wasted his and Jason’s time pushing them to return to Los Angeles made him laugh to himself.
“Is that a smile?”
Tae Hyun snorted and looked out the window at the passing highway scenery. “We just got here, and you’re teasing me already, hyung?”
“Never.” Jason grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m just happy to see you happy.”
Tae Hyun wasn’t sure if he was happy. But he wasn’t the only one that had suffered recently. If it made Jason feel better to think he was happy, that was okay. “I think I am.” Tae Hyun turned to face Jason. “I don’t really have many bad memories of this place. And your home is here.”
“Our home.”
Tae Hyun frowned. “Hyung–”
“No. I’m serious. Even if we’re not married, everything I have is yours, too.”
Tae Hyun pushed a smile back to his lips. “That’s good since I’m only with you for your money.”
“Now who’s doing the teasing?” Jason chuckled. “But you probably shouldn’t have said that until after we’re married.”
Tae Hyun playfully pretended to frown. “Damn.” He leaned in close enough to catch a whiff of Jason’s cologne. “Will you forget I said that if I stick my dick in your mouth?”
Jason laughed and shook his head. “That only shuts me up. You have to get me drunk to make me forget stuff.”
Their driver dropped them off at the house around dinner time–or breakfast, if Tae Hyun was going by his body clock. The Songs helped carry Jason and Tae Hyun’s luggage inside before leaving to check in with the grounds security team. Lily had obviously been by earlier to ensure the place was clean and banish the chill of a house that had mostly sat empty for several weeks.
Despite Jason’s assurance that it was his home, too, Tae Hyun still felt like a guest when he walked inside. It was a lovely house–far nicer than their Seoul apartment. But it was still Jason’s. Then Tae Hyun spotted a pair of shoes he’d left behind sitting by the door. And, further inside, carefully placed on a shelf near a few other nicknacks, was the ceramic fox figurine Jason had bought him during their visit to the Ikseon-dong Hanok Village. That had been their first outing together, if not an actual date. And it was the first gift Jason had ever bought for him. It was a silly, cheap, thoughtful thing that Tae Hyun absolutely treasured, and Jason had displayed it in a place of honor. Overcome with a sudden warmth, his vision blurred with fresh tears as Tae Hyun realized what Jason said was true. It was Tae Hyun’s home, too.
“What’s this?” Jason appeared before Tae Hyun with a concerned frown. “Is something wrong?”
Tae Hyun quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong. These are happy tears.” He gripped Jason by the waist and pulled them together. “I’m happy to be here with you, hyung.”
Jason smiled and leaned in for a kiss. Tae Hyun inhaled his intoxicating scent as their lips met, then gasped when Jason snuck a warm hand under his shirt and ran it up the curve of his back. But Jason soon pulled away from the kiss and grinned. “Is now a good time for my surprise?”
Concerned, Tae Hyun’s brows quickly bunched together. He definitely wasn’t in the mood for surprises. “What did you do?”
Jason’s grin pushed his cheeks a little wider. “You’ll see.” He took Tae Hyun by the hand. “Come on.”
Tae Hyun let Jason pull him through the house and across the main floor lounge to the window wall that opened to the sun deck. He immediately spotted something new–a large boxy object covered with a tarp. He glanced at Jason, who still grinned as he slid the glass door open and yanked Tae Hyun outside. He had no idea what could’ve been under the tarp until they got closer. He stopped.
“Hyung? Is that what I think it is?”
Jason chuckled as he let go of Tae Hyun’s hand, rushed over, and yanked the tarp off a large, brand-new hot tub. “Surprise!” He opened the framed cover, which folded onto itself and back over the edge. Steam rose from the placid, crystal-clear water until Jason tapped a control panel on the lip, and the jets kicked on. “What do you think?”
Tae Hyun started to laugh. After everything, he’d hardly thought about the night they’d spent in that Incheon hotel suite with a hot tub on the balcony when he said he wanted one. And Jason hadn’t said a word about it since then. After failing to surprise Tae Hyun with their hotel stay, he finally pulled off the perfect surprise.
“I love it!” Tae Hyun rushed over and threw his arms around Jason. “You’re the best, hyung.”
