yuerstruly

ship: doyoung/jaehyun (nct)
rating: general audiences
word count: 439
tags: post breakup, alternate universe - office setting
notes: this was originally written for omoiyaris's birthday and was first posted on twitter on October 30, 2023

It’s been five years since Doyoung has last walked the hallways on this floor. They mirror the ones in his building, endless bleak walls and run down carpet that make it hard for anyone to tell where they’re going, save for the chipped house numbers slapped onto the doors.

To think that he’d once let Jaehyun kiss him against these walls, not caring about the fact that anyone could come out of their rooms, that anyone could see them. Right there, in plain sight. 26-year-old Doyoung has more dignity than that.

He stops at a door. The plate reads 1421. It’s been so long since he’s last seen this combination of numbers. Not since he stormed in here raging with a stack of the photos he’d previously tacked onto his bedroom wall, then holding them up to Jaehyun and tearing apart each and one of them before his eyes until the light had distinguished. He watched Jaehyun sink to the ground on all fours, scrambling to piece everything back together, then looking up at him, pleaing for Doyoung to fix everything. Doyoung hadn’t wanted to.

But now he stands at the door with another stack of photos in hand. The same ones, to be precise. Doyoung never told Jaehyun the ones he’d torn apart were copies. The original ones were kept in a nicely designed gift box because he didn’t want them getting stained. Jaehyun doesn’t know that. Doyoung let him believe this was him letting go and dumping the Jung Jaehyun.

The door opens. It’s not Jaehyun. Of course it isn’t, Doyoung thinks. Why would he still be living in this run-down building when he could afford a much bigger and stylish place after having climbed up the corporate ladder these past few years? Jaehyun’s got better places to be.

“Doyoung?” He takes in a deep breath. Now that’s definitely Jaehyun’s voice. “What are you doing here?” The door creaks open, and Doyoung looks away, finding himself unable to face either man at the door.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were busy,” he mumbles. “Was wondering if you had time to—” “Oh.” The door’s wide open now. “Yeah, sure. Get out, dude, before your parents call me again.” Doyoung frowns. Is Jaehyun into younger men now? The one who’d just walked out the door looked no more than twenty.

“Sorry, that was my baby cousin. He’s … don’t mind him. Come in.” Jaehyun greets him with a dimpled grin, as if they’d been friends all this time.

Doyoung looks down at the box in his hands. “I have something for you,” he says, holding it out to Jaehyun.