As the months flew by, life became a blur of work, stress, and inner conflicts for many.
The world tour had finally come to an end two days ago, and the boy group, along with their staff, was returning home after spending nearly 11 months traveling across Asia.
The tour had begun in May 2023 and concluded in February 2024, marking a significant milestone for the group.
Despite the distance and busy schedules, Hoshi and his friends had managed to stay in touch through chats and FaceTime calls, showcasing the strength of their bond.
Joshua, who had been away from home due to work since the beginning of the previous year, was also part of this close-knit group.
They took great pride in maintaining their connection despite the challenges.
The anticipation of reuniting with friends and loved ones filled the air as the group prepared to return home, bringing an end to their long and exhausting journey.
Yuta had settled down peacefully and had grown a firm belief that it was only Taeyong who lived in the residency, not the other guy.
Otherwise, Yuta would have met him here and there within such a long time, but no. This gave the Japanese a huge sense of relief.
Whenever he remembered the incident, he couldn't help but feel awkward and wonder how he became so pathetic and vulnerable in front of a stranger.
Even though that 'guy' didn't seem to judge Yuta in that condition, Yuta couldn't help feeling embarrassed, wondering what that guy might have thought about him.
That's the reason Yuta didn't want to face the other 'guy' at all.
Now, he was confident that he definitely wouldn't meet that guy again, as almost a year had passed by since Yuta met Taeyong again, and not once had that 'guy' appeared in front of him, making the Japanese extremely confident.
"Hoshi is coming back tomorrow, should we plan something for him?" Taeyong asked Doyoung on the call before making his way back home after a long, tiring day of work at the café shop he owned.
"If you want to, then sure. By the way, you talked to others about that? What did they say?" Doyoung questioned.
"Coups isn't sure whether he'll make it or not, same goes for Ten as they have got some work. Han is going out of town, and Hao is already out of town because of an event to organize. Woozi has a music album to work on, and the rest are unavailable due to their own reasons," Taeyong replied, summarizing the responses from their friends.
"Guess half of the party is unavailable," Doyoung said.
Taeyong hummed before taking his usual seat on the subway, the back seat away from the crowd where he could sit and reflect on his day. "Yeah, that's why I say adulthood is hard. Everyone is busy with their life and work,"
Taeyong said with a hint of melancholy in his voice, which couldn't go unnoticed by his friend on the call.
"If they can't come, it's okay. Don't feel down because of it. Hmm, we can do one thing. Let's have dinner at your place or mine with Hoshi, you, and me. Trust me, it would be enough to make that hamster happy. As we both know, after such a tiring month, he won't have too much energy to have a blast at a party. All he'll want is a good rest and having tasty homemade food made by you will make him beyond happy,"
Doyoung told Taeyong, knowing how much Hoshi admired Taeyong's cooking skills.
"Good idea! So I'll try to come home early tomorrow, and we'll have dinner at my place. I'll text Hoshi about it," Taeyong said, and Doyoung agreed, smiling to himself, thinking about how easy it was to make Taeyong happy.
"Party for the introverts is coming," Doyoung remarked, making Taeyong laugh.
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"Finally!!!!" Hoshi said, throwing himself onto his bed and hiding his face in the pillow for a moment before looking up to scan the room he hadn't seen in a month.
"My room, my bed, my pillow missed you all!" Hoshi exclaimed, again hiding his face in the pillow for a good minute before standing up to take a shower and have some food.
After finishing his lunch, Hoshi went back to bed and opened his phone to check the tons of messages he had received from his friends, telling him they would meet soon to have some drinks and have a good time.
With that said, Hoshi closed his phone after replying to each text, placed it on the drawer beside the bed, and fell dead asleep.
"It's delicious," Hoshi said with food stuffed in his mouth, appreciating Taeyong's cooking as always.
It had been a long time since Hoshi had gotten to eat homemade food, and when Taeyong messaged him last night telling him about his plan, Hoshi instantly agreed.
Now, he, Taeyong, and Doyoung were having a cozy meal at Taeyong's place, sitting on the ground around the wooden table across each other.
"How was the tour?" Taeyong asked between eating.
"Amazing, even though I didn't get much time to travel and explore the cities, I managed to visit some places and bought a few things," Hoshi informed, and Taeyong smiled as he had expected Hoshi to say the last thing, as he just loved spending money on shopping.
"I wonder if the few means buying half of the store," Doyoung remarked, making Hoshi shoot him a glare.
"I would highly appreciate it if you just shut your mouth," Hoshi countered.
"You shut up," Doyoung said, and before these two started fighting, Taeyong meddled in, stopping both of them.
"How's your work going?" Hoshi asked, looking toward Taeyong, having Doyoung's attention as well.
"Going good, or can say it's been pretty hectic as we have less staff and the café is always crowded with people from morning till night. It's hard to handle them all sometimes, but luckily, Injune and Shotaro are a really big help," Taeyong told the males who were listening attentively.
"Why don't you hire more staff then?" Hoshi asked, taking his last bite, and Doyoung internally cursed at how Hoshi could be so oblivious sometimes.
As if Hoshi could read Doyoung's mind, he realized what he said before looking back at Taeyong, who replied first, cutting Hoshi's words.
"I want to, but it's not the right time," Taeyong said, and neither of the two younger males got the courage to say anything further on the matter.
Suddenly, an uncomfortable silence fell off. "Don't worry! You are more capable of handling many people at one time than you think, like a superman,"
Hoshi said, trying to ease the tension by making Taeyong cheer up, and it worked a bit as the male passed a small smile.
Hoshi sighed before placing a hand on Taeyong's shoulder in an assuring way.
"You know we all are here for you always," Hoshi assured, knowing Taeyong was actually in a lot of stress because of the situation but never talked to anyone about it except Hoshi or Doyoung, as these two were the ones he trusted the most with sharing his problems.
"I know, and that's the thing that gives me strength to cope up with all this," Taeyong stated and flashed a small thankful smile to Hoshi and Doyoung, who did the same.
"It will be okay," Doyoung assured, and that's how the rest of the night went with them eating, joking, and laughing.
To be continued....