Fran parked his car in front of a popular donut shop. He was on his way to Mister Jin’s that afternoon when he saw the donut shop sign. Thinking that it was Mister Jin’s favorite food, Fran decided to buy a box for his old friend. He saw a long queue of customers inside, but, it did not stop Fran to get out of his car, enter the donut shop, and join the queue of people.
Fran was thinking of what to order when he heard an unfamiliar voice called his name. He simply ignored it. However, the owner of the voice was persistent. Fran could hear his name being called repeatedly. He was starting to get annoyed. Some of the shop’s customers were beginning to stare at him weirdly. So, Fran did not have a choice but to look at the direction where the voice was coming.
Fran saw a guy wearing a baseball cap, red shirt, blue denims, and a pair of sneakers—waving at him. Fran was having a hard time identifying the guy because he couldn’t see the man’s face since it was partially covered by the front part of the baseball cap. He decided to ignore the man and moved on to his business; however, the guy started to walk towards Fran.
“Hey, it’s me.” said the guy after removing the baseball cap he was wearing. “Fran, did you forget about your classmate?”
“Oh…” it was the only sound that came out of Fran’s mouth after finally recognizing the guy in front of him. “You’re Jaden, right?”
Jaden laughed out loud, he even tapped Fran on the shoulder. “I thought you already forgotten about me. So, what are your plans for today? Are you free? Let’s hang out!”
Fran stepped a few feet away from Jaden. The guy was his classmate during 12th grade. Fran couldn’t remember a time when they spoke to each other when they were classmates. Jaden was one of the popular guys during high school—he was loud, funny, handsome, and friendly. While Fran was quiet, unapproachable, and indifferent towards others.
Fran couldn’t think of a reason why Jaden was being friendly towards him now. He used to ignore Fran during high school. There was even a time when Fran heard some of his classmates laughing at his expense (because they couldn’t stand him for being a bookworm) and Jaden was there laughing with them. So, why approach Fran now like they were friends?
“Sorry, did I come too strong?” Jaden’s voice became apologetic. Maybe he noticed how Fran backed away from him. “I know we’re not friends during high school, but, it’s nice to see a familiar face after a while.”
Fran eyed his former classmate. He said in a stiff voice: “I don’t want to be rude to you, Jaden, but I don’t like you acting friendly with me after all this time. It makes me uncomfortable.”
Jaden’s eyes widened in surprise when he heard Fran’s response. He looked away in embarrassment. “Oh, sorry for disturbing you, Fran. Have a nice day.”
Fran did not reply. He turned his gaze on the shop’s menu and think of what to order. He was expecting for Jaden to leave him alone, however, Fran heard his former classmate say to him: “I’m going to S University, too. See you there…” Then, Fran heard Jaden’s footsteps walking away from him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Jeez! So, there’s a chance I’ll be seeing that guy again? Yikes! Fran thought.
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When Fran reached the shop, a box of donut in hand, he saw Sean talking to some customers. Fran wandered his gaze around the shop, but, Mister Jin was nowhere in sight.
“Hi, Fran!” Sean greeted him.
“Where is Mister Jin?” Fran asked.
He saw Sean’s expression became gloomy. He smiled but it didn’t even reach his eyes. “He’s resting in our room.”
Fran was now sure that something was definitely wrong. He was friends with Mister Jin and he was also a little bit close with Sean. Fran knew the latter as a serious, calm, and rational person—but Sean would always smile brightly whenever he was inside the shop. In the past, Fran asked Mister Jin about that particular behaviour of his partner.
Mister Jin lovingly told Fran: “When I first met Sean, I had no desire to be with him at all. I refused his love confession in numerous occasions. I was thinking of living alone for the rest of my life. But, Sean was so determined to make me fall in love with him. Then, my heart finally gave in. We lived together for a long time. Sean was a doctor overseas, but, when I told him that I wanted to go back here and start a business—he agreed without any question. So, we build this shop. I was happy and Sean saw it. He started to change. He began to smile more often when talking to our customers. When I asked him about it, he told me that he wanted for the people to feel welcomed. This shop is not just a business—this is a place who gave us immeasurable happiness. Sean likes it here very much.”
“Fran….” said a voice that pulled him out of his memory of the past. It was Sean’s.
“I know something’s going on with Mister Jin. I want to know about it, Sean.” Fran said in a serious tone.
“C-Can you come with m-me, Fran?” Sean’s voice began to crack. Fran could also see that Sean was trying to hold back his tears.
Fran nodded. Sean called the shop assistant to handle the place in his stead. Fran followed Sean towards the stairs. Mister Jin and his partner were living on the third floor of the shop. It was not Fran’s first time visiting their ‘house’. He was already invited several times by Mister Jin.
No matter how many times Fran saw the house on the third floor, he couldn’t help but be fascinated again and again. The ‘house’ looked cozy and warm. It was clean and a sweet citrus scent filled the place. It was evident what kind of people were living in it—they were good-hearted and loving.
Fran was led by Sean to the master’s bedroom. Sean knocked on the door.
“Please, just leave me alone for now. I’m sorry, Sean…” It was Mister Jin’s voice. It sounded weak and lonely.
Sean looked at Fran with pleading eyes. Without any word, Fran clearly understood what that gaze meant.
“Mister Jin, it’s me, Fran. Can you please open the door? I want to see you.”
There was no reply. Fran was about to knock on the door when he heard a gentle voice spoke: “The door is not locked. You can come inside, Fran.”
Fran looked at Sean—who gave him a nod of approval. Fran open the door and went inside the room. He saw Mister Jin sitting on the bed. His eyes were swollen and red. He looked pale and exhausted.
“Mister Jin, what happened?“ Fran’s voice was full of concern.
The old man tried his best to smile at Fran. “Don’t worry about me. This is happening because I deserve this.”
“What do you mean, Mister? Did something happen between you and Sean—”
Mister Jin held Fran’s hand. “I have pancreatic cancer.”
Fran’s jaw dropped. He was not expecting to hear something like that from Mister Jin. “You need to see a doctor. We have to know what we have to do about your—”
Mister Jin shook his head. “It’s too late. The cancer is on its final stage. The doctor wants me to undergo surgery but I refused.”
“Why did you refuse, Mister Jin? You need it to—”
“What’s the use of surgery and treatments? I am going to die anyway…”
Fran couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Why are you thinking like that, Mister? The surgery and treatments can help prolong your life. You told me that you still want to see your children. How can you do that if you are already dead?“
Tears started to fall from Mister Jin’s eyes. “My children won’t see me no matter what happens. For them, I am already dead.”
“Mister!“
The old man revealed something to Fran. “I left my children a long time ago. I did that to be true to myself. I chose myself over my own children. Do you know how selfish is that, Fran? No wonder God has given me this illness to punish me for abandoning my own kids.”
“That’s not true,” Fran opposed. “After your surgery, let’s look for your children and talk—”
“There’s no need for that, Fran. I already accepted my fate.”
“And what about me?“ said an angry voice. Sean burst into the room crying. “You already accepted your fate, Jin? So, it’s all right for you to just leave me and die?“
“Sean, don’t say that—”
“What do you want me to say? That I’ll quietly follow your decision? That I have to grit my teeth while watching you slowly succumb to your illness? No, Jin, I won’t let you die. I’ll do everything to help you. I already talked to my doctor friends overseas. We will go there and get you treated. So, Jin…” Sean knelt down. His tears were falling nonstop. “…please don’t leave me. I love you. Please, I don’t want you to die. I love you. Please…”
Mister Jin got out of the bed and hugged his partner. “I’m sorry, Sean. I didn’t know you were hurting so bad, I only knew about my pain. I love you, darling. You’ve been with me through thick and thin. How can I think of dying if I have you? You’re everything to me. I’m sorry. I love you. Let’s go to A Country. I want to live longer to be with you…”
Fran realized that he was also crying while looking at Mister Jin and Sean. He couldn’t say that everything was okay now because his old friend’s illness was not yet out of the picture. However, Fran knew that Mister Jin would be taken care of because Sean was with him.
Ayaaa they are such loving couples..😿
Thanks for the chapter 🥰🥰
Wahhhh I hope Mr. Jin is okay!
I don’t know how I feel about this Jaden guy. He’s sus.
Thanks for the chapter <3
Oh no… I hope Mr. Jin will be fine 🥺
Thank you for the chapter <3
I’m glad Fran gets to see such a loving couple communicating honestly with each other. Also, how did Jaden know which university Fran got into? I do know it’s common for people who are used to being popular to cling to us bookworm acquaintances when they’re separated from their friends. It happened to me a few times. They weren’t bad mostly, just scared.