16. "I'll find you again."

                                    

                                          
"What are you doing here?" I asked as I let him in. The girls stood up at the sight of him. Confusion written all over their faces. Quickly closing the door, he turned to the girls and lifted up the bag he held.
"I have snacks." Madi took it from him and nodded her thanks. Opening it, she smiled when she saw the ice cream containers. We thanked him as Madi got spoons for us.
"Can we talk?" He asked softly, and I nodded. Taking his hand, I led him to the room.
This was weird. Why couldn't he have told me over the phone? Why did he have to come? How urgent was this, and why was it so bad that he had to tell me face-to-face? Closing the door, I turned and faced him. My heart was beating so fast and hard that I feared he'd hear it. He sat down on the bed and patted the space next to him. I sat down and folded my hands in my lap. It was shaking so badly. As usual, my mind thought of the absolute worst scenarios. He wanted to end our friendship. He didn't want to see me anymore. He was forced by JYPE to not talk to me after they found out we slept over.
"Is this bed enough for you?" He looked around, seeing no other bed or space for a makeshift bed on the floor. I shrugged and looked at the door.
"It'll be fine. It's all we could afford on short notice, and we have slept together before. So we'll be fine." I whispered, scared my voice would break. Why was I this scared? It was obviously nothing, since he seemed relaxed. Why was I stressed out?
"I wanted to see if you're okay. If everything went well?" He spoke softly, as if he were unsure of something. I scanned his face but found nothing worrisome.
"We are okay. Our case is getting sorted. Oh, and we got an extension on going home due to the case. They agreed." I smile at him. He smiled back while nodding.
"That's great. Maybe you'll still be here when we come back." He whispered, but his voice carried a hint of hope. My mind froze; I forgot he was leaving. How could I have forgotten? He moved his hand and brushed my hair back before cupping my face.
"We're leaving the day after tomorrow. I wanted to say goodbye." He spoke gently. My heart ached at this because who knew how long Jung Wook would allow us to extend? Chan and the boys will only be gone for a week, and that's nothing, but also, what if they see it as us taking the extension to our advantage? Suddenly, my eyes welled up with tears, making Chan frown.
"Hey no. Don't cry. We will see each other next week. It's going to be fine. Don't think the worst." He smiled sadly, and I nodded. For some reason, I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. What if we have to go before? We will never see them again. I will never see him smile or play with his hair again. He moved his hands down to my hips and pulled me closer, making me sit on his lap.
Cupping his face in mine, I leaned in closer and put my forehead against his. We stared at each other for a long time before he closed his eyes and just deeply breathed out. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tangled my fingers through his curls. Gently tugging, I kissed his cheek. He laughed at that, his body shaking beneath me. 
"I really like you, Elle. And I don't know what to do about it." He looked up at me, his eyes full of sadness and his ears red.
"I like you too. To the point of crying at the thought of leaving. I don't want to leave." My voice broke then, tears rushing forward again. He brushed them away, a slight smile on his face.
"Hey, it's going to be fine. We'll figure something out. I promise." He spoke, his voice shaky, and my heart broke. I looked at him, his eyes glossy. Was he crying? Or on the verge of it? Because of me? My heart was racing in my chest as a quick flash of how miserable my life would be without him. I just got Jeongin's number and thought we could be really good friends. At how we all got along with the boys. And after all this, it would be for nothing, as we have to leave again. Leave and not come back.