Chapter Text
his reflection had been staring right back at him for ten minutes now, he was ready to leave for school. he really should get going, even if he would still be early he didn’t want to deal with anyone at school just yet. but he just kept staring, going through all the expressions he could think of, was his smile too wide that night? suho kept looking at him after it, sieun thought he had perfected the natural smile from staring at other people. maybe suho just liked his smile and he was overthinking it, that was probably it.
after the millionth time smiling at himself in the mirror his face felt sore, his smile looked too strained now and felt wrong. he knew smiling in the moment was way easier than practicing his smile in the mirror for hours, it wasn’t like he was depressed and didn’t smile often. he just simply didn’t have any reason to smile, passing grades? that wasn’t something to smile over to him. animals coming up to him on the street? they could have diseases. eating his favorite snacks? his stomach could feel the joy for him, no reason to strain his face muscles for one smile.
sieun felt so confused, but he would just have to worry about all of this later. he forced his eyes away from the mirror, picking his backpack up, his body still felt so sore. if he wasn’t so focused on his education he would definitely just stay home for the day, but if he could walk just fine he had no reason not to go. the small limp was nothing, it didn’t feel major so why worry over it?
thankfully his father still wasnt home so he didnt have to explain all the bruises he had and why he winced everytime he put too much weight on his left leg, he seemed happy sieun was getting into fights for some reason. sieun knew he wasnt like other people his age and his father was probably just excited he was doing what everyone else did, still didnt make sense to him. why would he celebrate beating someone up? should he throw a party every single time he has to fight someone when he didnt want to?
his stomach twisted a bit once he walks out his room, he honestly really wanted to make something for breakfast but then he wouldnt make it to school before everyone else, he was sure he could hold out until lunch time. he remembers suho saying he would buy him some snacks for the entire week, but maybe he was just joking around? sieuns stomach protested just by the thought of it, he knew he had tried to tell suho he didnt have to but he really hopes he brings him some today.
his mouth waters a bit as he thinks about all the possibilities, something salty sounded amazing to him. he double checks the door was locked before continuing down the hallway, he wondered what types of snacks suho liked. suho was paying him back for buying him and yeongi food, but sieuns mother always taught him to refuse gifts since it was polite. dont be greedy! accepting gifts was so hard for him, and suho clearly wasnt about to make it easier for him.
but if being even a little greedy was bad why did it feel so good? his entire body felt like it was on fire just from suho complimenting him so much, it made him want to roll around in his bed until he felt satisfied and didnt feel like he was going to overheat. he wasnt even sure why he felt that way, usually he just let compliments sink in then move on with his day, but with suho he wanted to soak up every single word that was fed to him. maybe it was because he spoke so differently than usual compliments he had gotten over the years, maybe it was simply just him thinking sieun, of all people, was sweet.
sieun knew he wasnt sweet, he was blunt and critical of others constantly, so what was so sweet about him? was his harsh honesty seen as sweet? some people did seem relieved someone would reality check them, so maybe that was considered a good thing. he wishes he had the courage to ask suho what it was, because it made zero sense.
maybe he was just desperate for any attention he got, not realizing how lonely he felt until he had people that cared so loudly about him. mentally scolding himself for it almost immediately, if anyone knew he was sure they would make fun of him.
thankfully his school comes into view, his racing heart and thoughts slowing down instantly. it was almost like a switch in his brain, being able to study and complete tune out the world and himself. he had a bit before suho usually came in, but he wasn’t sure he would be early since he was just in the hospital. so, sieun planned his morning without suho distracting him.
—
sieun had been studying quietly in the classroom, even though suho wasn’t there yet he made it a habit to use the natural light from the window. it really was cozier than having the bright, annoying lights on.
the sound of the classroom door sliding open made his hand pause from writing, looking up to see suho walking in like he wasn’t hurting. sieuns lips part a bit as he stares, his heart picking up at every step suho took.
“the snacks i promised, get them from my bag. it’s kinda hard to open it with, you know..” sieun watched him lift the cast up, grinning down at him as he slips his backpack onto an empty desk. “i got a bunch for all of us, but feel free to get as much as you want!”
sieun felt like he looked like a fish, opening and closing his mouth, trying his hardest to decline the snacks. his hand was gripping his pen so hard it might break, he had left it right where he had been writing, the ink slowly staining the sentence completely. what was suhos deal? had sieun not made it clear he didn’t need to buy him anything?
“sieun-ah, don’t just sit there.. i wanna have some snacks too.” he sits down at the empty desk next to sieun, even scooting the chair closer to him. was he pouting too? “don’t tell me you’re gonna make me struggling unzipping my bag? that’s cold..”
the thought of suho thinking he was cold made him feel terrified, even if he was clearly messing around with him. he sets his pen down, snatching suhos backpack off the desk. he had only been close to suho if it had to do with fighting, but ever since he touched his cheek sieun swore he could still smell him. having his backpack in his lap didn’t help either, it was like his scent was wrapping around his entire body, but he had always been sensitive to stuff like this.
carefully unzipping the bag and pulling out the first thing he saw, some salty chips, his mouth couldn’t stop watering. sieun glanced back at suho before holding them out to him, trying his best to be kinder to him.
“..for me?”
sieun nods, pushing the chip bag closer.
“mm.. you can have them, sieun.” his smile made sieuns body tense, even him nudging the chips back to him made him shake. “like i said, take as much as you want.”
sieuns hand tightens on the bag a bit, the crinkle of it sounded louder in the empty classroom. he was about to just shove the bag into his non injured hand, but he had learned how far ahn suho would go once his mind was made it. it was better to save himself the headache and just go along with him, so he sets the bag on his desk next to his notebook.
he was about to hand suho his backpack back when he made a face at him, scoffing a little. “that’s all? come on, take some more. you need as much nutrients you can get for that big brain of yours,” sieun watched his hand reach out to his head, he prepared to have his hair messed with when suhos hand paused. sieun kept his eyes on the hand until it was back on the desk. “ah.. sorry, i forget youre like a cat.”
a cat? he thought sieun was an animal? how rude, his gaze hardens at him as his nails dig into his palm. was he not a normal human being to him?
at his reaction suho quickly backtracked, “no, no! it’s not a bad thing! you know how cats pull away when they don’t want to be pet?” sieun nods slowly, he continues on. “you do that too! it’s cute, cats are cute. i like cats.”
he guesses that made some sense, he did pull away the second someone tries to touch him. but he wasn’t an animal, being compared to one made him feel like suho looked down on him, that he wasn’t considered an equal to suho. but he said it was cute, so it wasn’t a bad thing. not an insult, even though it was rude still.
“i’ve been told i’m like a goldfish, my memory is kinda bad.” his smile looked a bit shy, maybe a little embarrassed? the way he was messing with his shirt made it seem that way at least. “it’s like someone could tell me to do something and… boom! i already forgot what they said.”
“that’s a myth.”
suho glanced up quickly, he always seemed so blessed to hear his voice. sieun found it so annoying. “huh? what’s a myth?”
“the.. goldfish memory, it isn’t that bad.” his voice goes quieter near the end, having suho staring at him so attentive made him nervous. to him it felt like he was being picked at, having everything about him be analyzed by the second. but with suho it felt worse, sieun really wanted to force his head away.
“oh.. really?” scratching the back of his head, suhos eyebrows furrowed a bit. “wah… you’re too smart, sieun. being around you makes me feel dumb as fuck.”
he just shook his head at that, suho was smart too, in his own ways. he seemed like he had his life all together even though he was still a teenager, sieun was sure he could go into adulthood easily. but for sieun that sounded like a terrible nightmare, his parents always complimented him for how mature he was but it wasn’t like that to him. it was embarrassing and something he wouldn’t ever admit out loud, but at the end of the day he still felt like a little kid. a little kid who just happened to be extremely book smart, so smart he could only cook a handful of meals.
so, suho wasn’t dumb. him saying that made sieun want to grab him by his shoulders and shake him around, the only dumb thing about him was him thinking he was dumb.
before sieun could understand what was going on suho had scooted the chair closer, to the point he was at sieuns desk now. his smile made sieun feel weird, he was sure he was looking at suho like he was crazy because his smile just got wider.
“your grades are amazing, do you ever think of taking a break from studying?” his head tilts to the side, leaning forward to look at his notes. “i’m sure you could fail.. three tests and still be the top student. maybe even four!”
sieuns frown just deepened, staring at him.
“do you like studying, like is it fun for you?” sieun just shrugged, suho squints at him like he was insane. “you study all the time, but you arent sure if you even like it? youre so weird, sieun.”
how was he the weird one? sieun knew he wasnt like everyone else his age, but no one was truly the same as someone else, everyone had their own flaws. he wanted to ask what made him seem weird, but suho seemed to just be teasing him. he also wasnt sure if he wanted to know what truly made him weird, feeling a bit self conscious, sieun looks back down at his notes. no longer able to return suhos gaze, sieun could still feel his eyes on him though. he was close to just pushing his face away until he got the hint, because ignoring him never got through his thick skull.
“hmm, what do you like then? like, something you know for sure!” suho just leaned in closer, the small desk already felt crowded with sieuns notebooks. “ooh! what about music? i know you said you keep your airpods in so people don’t bother you, but there’s no way you never listen to music with them.” when sieun just kept looking down at his notes, suho continues. “dont be shy, i wont tease you too much.”
usually sieun couldnt care less about what others thought about him, but that was before he started making friends. he wasnt sure how he would feel if a friend of his doesnt like that same things he liked, he remembers genuinely feeling heartbroken when his parents didnt want to watch his favorite cartoon growing up.
he must have been quiet for too long because when he looked at suho he was even closer, sieun almost flinched from how close he was to him now. he glared at him, scooting his chair away. did he not understand personal space?
suhos smile fell a bit, he acted like sieun ignoring him was unheard of. “...you dont have to tell me if you really are too shy to say, i get it. well, i kinda do?” he looked like he was trying to solve the worlds hardest math problem in his head. if he strained himself too hard sieun was sure he would pass out. “i guess ive just never met someone as interesting as you, sieun-ah. i cant help but be curious.”
this guy was so confusing, he went from teasing sieun to being all sweet and caring, it made sieuns head hurt. but he couldnt deny it made him feel safe, like he could actually be himself for a moment. maybe he really was like a cat? a cat slowly trusting a human, as long as you fed him whatever he wanted. would suho feed him? pet him? love him gently, the love he craved for? excuse me? his face warmed up, embarrassed for even thinking that way.
an obnoxious yawn brings him back to reality, this time he actually did flinch. “i’ll let you get back to studying, i want to sleep some more. wake me up for lunch, hm?” sieun watched his hand pat against his notebook before he stood up, leaving sieun all alone.
he felt a little bummed out now, as if he wasnt just wishing for suho to stop talking. maybe he was the confusing one, not suho.
–
who knew walking around balancing a tray full of food with a cast on was hard? suho thought the firmness of it would make it easier honestly, but everytime he turned too fast the tray almost flips completely over. it could also be because he got a bunch of extra food, but he was starving and having a cast got him way more extra food somehow. definitely from pity.
once he was able to set his tray down his entire body relaxed, if one of his arms wasnt in a cast he would be rubbing his hands together just looking at the food. he didnt even know why he was so hungry, maybe his body was telling him he needs this excessive amount of food for his arm to heal faster? that sounded good enough to him to eat like it was his last meal ever.
he basically shoveled some food into his mouth, glancing at sieun and beomseok when he felt their eyes on him. beomseok looked a little weirded out by his manners, but hid it behind a very awkward smile. sieun wasnt the type to hide how he was feeling, that was clear to suho from the start. right now, he looked absolutely disgusted by the way he ate. his face made him want to laugh.
“hungry?” beomseok teased lightly, trying his best to hide his grimace.
suho nods, his voice muffled around all the food in his mouth. “very hungry, i think i’m gonna have some snacks too after.”
“mm, really? it’s my treat then, get as much as you want.” beomseok smiled stiffly, looking down at his own tray. “you deserve it after taking most of the beatings..”
his face scrunched up a bit at that, it hurt to swallow all his food at once, waving his hand dismissively. “don’t be like that, i’ll treat you both this time! i still have a bunch of snacks in my bag, if you guys are still hungry after too.”
when he turned to sieun he was still looking at him like he was the most nastiest person alive, but he just grinned at him. he’s already got past his walls once, he was confident he can continue to earn his trust. at least now he wasn’t trying to hit him upside the head with a chair, but he did look like he wanted to take all his things and leave their table.
exactly like a cat, even if he denied it.
“do you want some snacks again, sieun-ah?” he tilts his head, pointing his spoon at him. “you want me to feed you again?”
he knew he was pushing it by teasing sieun so much, but it was so entertaining to him. suho wasn’t trying to actually upset him, he just thought it was fun to watch sieun get more and more irritated. if sieun kept glaring at him his face would get stuck that way, suho wouldn’t mind that though.
“um… are you guys free this weekend? i was thinking we could hang out, a treat after everything we went through!” beomseok broke the intense staring contest they had going on, looking between the both of them. “what about a restaurant? i saw a place that looked promising.”
“oh, for sure. i’m down to try anything, beom! with my arm i have so much time off now, ive never felt so free.” he laughed at his own joke, his ego boosting the second beomseok found him amusing as well. but of course when he looked at sieun he didn’t even seem to be hiding a smile, “don’t tell me you’re going to say no, there’s no way you still have stuff to memorize.”
suho watched him look at them before looking down at the table, he just shrugged a bit. somehow sieun made himself seem even smaller, like he was attempting to disappear from everyone. but suho would just continue to push and seek him out, no matter how annoyed he looked.
he sighs a bit, frowning as pitifully as he could. “are you really not going out with us? i’m all hurt and you still don’t want to hang out?”
even though he thought his teasing was obvious, sieun looked surprised by it. his voice so quiet he had to lean in a bit to hear him, he looked so uncomfortable even saying a few words. “i want to, it’s just.. how can you think about food right now?”
well, he had a point, looking down at his mound of food that would definitely fill him up for a while. he picked a bit at his food before looking back at sieun, simply shrugging. “look me in my eyes and tell me you aren’t excited to go out to eat, free food basically. that makes it tastier, sieun-ah!”
he could see the second sieun decided to give up and not fight with him, watching him go back to eating his own food, it was too easy. suho only got a few more mouthfuls of food before perking up, waving his hand towards sieun to get his attention again. “we should invite yeongi to come with, she’s definitely getting hired so it could be a little celebration for her!”
sieun looked back up, his chopsticks pausing in his mouth, cute. before suho could to attempt to know what sieun thought of it just from looking into his eyes, beomseok spoke up. “yeongi? who’s that, a friend of yours?”
“mhm, she’s the one with all the pink in her hair. you remember?” he makes a bashing motion with his cast, his other hand busy with his spoon. “the badass one that knocked that asshole upside the head, she’s hard to forget.”
“…ah, i remember her now. have you two been friends for a while?”
“mm, no?” the awkward silence that came after that didn’t bother him much, beomseok just laughed but his expression looked anything but amused. more so just confused. “so, what do we think?” he looks between them, even though he had already made up his mind with bringing her along. she needed to get out his house more, she was still upset over everything that went down. suho understood her but he was tired of almost having heart attacks from getting up in the middle of the night, just for her to be wide awake in the living room.
sieun and beomseok looked at each other for a moment, beomseok nods after a moment. the smile on his face looked off, maybe he was just shy to meet someone new. “i don’t mind, more people sounds fun!”
it was settled then, his plan to get yeongi out more would soon be completed. it was fun living with her, especially since they both liked similar things, but it had always just been him and his halmeoni. it felt odd to have another person in their small place, he didn’t mind it much. it was just something new.
this also meant getting sieun to come out his shell a bit more as well, even if it was only by a bit. every small victory felt big to suho, if sieun wasn’t so shy he would have already thrown him five different parties just from getting him to text him back.
—
| oh beomseok, yeon sieun, lee yeongi, ahn suho(4)
me |
the group grows every single day
soon we’ll have too many friends 2 keep count lmao
read 10:23
| lee yeongi
dude ur weird asf
me |
i let u take my bed while i sleep on the floor
and this is how im treated?
do u HATE me
read 10:24
| lee yeongi
mhm! ^^..
me |
wow..
im heartbroken rn
read 10:24
| lee yeongi
kayyyy
| oh beomseok
don’t forget we r meeting at the restaurant soon !!!
me |
how could i even forget
i’ve been thinking abt all the stuff im abt to eat
read 10:30
| oh beomseok
LOL
eat as much as u want
my treat !!
me |
thank u
but i can pay 4 my stuff this time
treat sieunie instead LOL
read 10:31
| oh beomseok
is he still coming? well.. did he even agree or did we just assume?
| lee yeongi
suhos dumbass def just assumed
| oh beomseok
hm ok..
me |
i didn’t ASSUME
he told me
read 10:32
| lee yeongi
did he now…
me |
we r close
we can speak telepathically
read 10:32
| lee yeongi
don’t hurt urself with big words now
| oh beomseok
um
| yeon sieun
Hello.
me |
see? i told u guys
we just get each other
read 10:33
| oh beomseok
hi sieun!!
r u still coming out with me and suho?
and yeongi!
| yeon sieun
I’m not sure, I have somewhere to be before the time you all planned.
Go on without me.
me |
bro
we can wait 4 u LMAO
read 10:35
| yeon sieun
It’s fine, I don’t know how long I will be.
| lee yeongi
what’s got u so busy?
a date..? ouu~
| yeon sieun
? No.
I will try to make it.
Goodbye, I have to go.
me |
i can’t wait for sieun 2 text us back in 4 weeks
#blessed #lovemylife
read 10:40
| oh beomseok
LOLOL
i’m going to head my way to you now
me |
k beom
read 10:40
—
“wah, there’s my baby!”
sieuns face was immediately cradled once he made it outside the overly fancy restaurant, his mother had been on the phone with her work like always. he almost wanted to turn around before she saw him and just go meet the others, but it had been a while since he saw his mother. of course he missed her, but he just felt off trying to talk to her. she always found a way to talk about his future or his education, which is fine because she’s just worried, but for once he would like to talk about something else.
“hey, what happened to your cheek?” she gently turned his face to the side to check over him, so unlike how his father had grabbed his face carelessly when it was bruised. his mother had always been more worried over him since he got sick so easily, but he could see the disappointment in her expressions still. why couldn’t my child be like everyone else?
“have you been getting bad again? sieun-ah, you need to tell me these things.”
“no, eomma. i just slipped during gym.” his voice was a bit hard to hear on the busy sidewalk, but he wasn’t sure he could physically push past the lump in his throat this time. just being here felt taxing to him.
her hand rubbing over the plaster on his cheek felt completely different from when suho had done it, it didnt make sense because she was being just as gentle as suho. the warmth from suho made his entire body soft, but his mothers warmth didn’t make his body ease up a bit. sieun just wanted to get this over with so he can leave, he wishes she would choose a secluded place to catch up instead of the usual restaurant she picked. it just felt too fancy for him, too many people that were full of themselves, people who would look at him like he was weird and shouldn’t even be there.
she pats his cheek once before letting her hand fall back to her side, smiling at him. “come on, you must be hungry. have you lost weight, hm?”
everytime they met it went exactly like this, she just kept going on and on about things he didnt want to talk about. it did make him feel guilty, she tried her best to stay updated about his life and be there for him despite how busy she was with work. she didnt have time to be his mother all the time now, he was fine with that, used to it. he didnt really crave that affection from his parents, maybe once or twice when he was younger. but now, he never felt that way.
at least the restaurant was somewhat quiet, so he didnt feel too overwhelmed with everything. the food was good too even if he got something light, his nerves felt too much to order anything else. he chewed slowly as he listens to his mother talk about how work was going for her, he was happy to hear she was really enjoying it and that her coworkers were sweet as well. sieun had to hear her rant about terrible coworkers throughout the years, so this was an amazing change of pace.
after eating their meals his mother orders them both dessert, even though sieun tried to tell her he wouldnt be able to stomach it. eat some cake with your eomma, alright? usually he would be excited to eat something sweet, any other time he would be inhaling the sweet treat the second it was set in front of him. thankfully his mother was too busy tapping on her phone to notice he was just picking at the cake instead of eating it.
she sets her phone down, her smile a bit right now. “so, hows your appa? is he taking good care of you?”
“mm, appa has been busy with the season.” he mumbled, shrugging a bit. “he leaves enough food and money whenever he leaves.”
she scoffed at that, smiling in disbelief. “unbelievable, are you sure he is leaving you enough money? just let me know and i will send you what you need.”
“no, he leaves just enough. im fine, eomma.”
“hm, alright.” she sighed, lifting her fork to her mouth.
even after years of being divorced his parents still found a way to have a disagreement, sieun was hoping once they separated the fighting would stop, but he guesses some people would just never get along.
“now, sieun-ah, have you figured out what you want to do after high school? i have some amazing colleges that you would have no trouble being accepted to!”
sieun looked down at his barely touched cake the second she mentioned college, it was odd that he hadnt looked into any colleges for someone that was so focused on their education. of course he had thought about it, but that is as far as he went. he shakes his head, picking at the cake. “no, not yet.”
“aw, that’s alright. a ton of people take their time deciding what they want to do, dont worry.” she reached over, patting his hand. “plus, im confident you’ll have no trouble once you start thinking about it. any college would be honored to have you, youre amazing at everything, sieun-ah! you can do anything once you put your mind to it.”
how? how was he amazing at everything? that is impossible, and even if it was, sieun was far from perfect. he had too many flaws to be that, and he knew that she was aware of it. both of his parents made him very aware of that his entire life so far, from how he had an ‘attitude’, to simple things like how he stood, it was all wrong in their eyes. and to say he can do anything? should he remind her how he has to build up the courage just to order food? or how he felt more than everyone else, but felt too little at the same time somehow.
“you’re wrong, there’s a lot i cant do.”
her glass of water paused right at her mouth, tilting her head. “huh? speak up, sieun.”
“...nevermind, it doesnt matter.”
annoyance flashed in her eyes for just a moment, her smile looked tighter now. “you need to learn to use your voice, sieun. how are you going to get into a good college if you cant speak louder than a whisper? none of the professors will take you seriously, youre just so..” she stopped herself, setting the glass down, rubbing her forehead. “im just looking out for you, sieun-ah. you understand, right?”
how could he understand that? sure, if he looked at it hard enough he supposed it made sense, she just wanted him to be treated seriously. but why did that mean he has to do things that made him so uncomfortable? it isn’t like he can force himself to talk, somedays it was impossible for him to even say a few things. why did he have to always understand other people? why couldn’t it be the other way around for once?
the sound of her phone buzzing pushed him over, the little fight he had left for this conversation was gone completely. the second she picked her phone up he knew there was no point in fighting anymore.
“are you done with your dessert? i have to go to a meeting soon,” she only glanced at him once, already grabbing her things and standing up. “how about we get coffee before i have to go? hm, you love coffee, right?”
his headache was sure to split his head completely open before the day ends.
—
“what should we do for your birthday? it’s coming up soon,”
the second yeongi learned about his birthday she had been planning things ever since, not that suho was annoyed by it. but he was convinced she just wanted an excuse to throw a party.
“i don’t know, i might be working on my birthday anyways.”
she punched his arm playfully, scoffing at him. “liar! i know you already asked for that day off,” she looks back down at her phone, scrolling for ideas to do. “just tell me what you want so i can go off from that.”
“hm.. you can do whatever, just nothing too big.”
“ugh, you are so boring.” yeongi grumbled under her breath, tapping away at her phone.
“ah.. your birthdays coming up, suho-yah? when?”
suho looks back at beomseok, had he not mentioned it to him? he never really wanted to do anything big for his birthday so it probably just slipped his mind.
“it’s on a saturday,” yeongi beats him to it, “hmm.. should be just two weeks from now!”
“ah.. alright.”
yeongi looks back at beomseok, grinning at him. “we should rent a party room for him! i already have all the decorations in mind, what do you think?”
“uh.. sure, that sounds like a good idea.”
suho huffed a bit, “why are you two planning a party? let’s just do something simple, it’s my birthday.”
“yah, don’t be so lame. it’ll be a small party with just us four, you’re acting like we’re planning a gigantic celebration.” yeongi brushes her hair off her shoulder with a hmph, looking back down at her phone. “besides, you don’t know enough people to have a massive party.”
suho bumped his shoulder against her in retaliation, biting back a smile. “asshole,”
once they got to the place beomseok told them about suho felt instantly relaxed, the pain in his arm not as bad now that he was in such a chill place. also the promise of drinks and food cheered him up as well.
“ooh, there’s so many things i want..” yeongi mumbled, looking over the menu. “what about.. tiramisu?”
“sounds good, i’ll get an iced americano with that.”
yeongi looked up from the menu, scrunching her nose up. “eugh, gross. i don’t know how you can drink something like that.” she shivers dramatically before grabbing onto his arm, tugging him away from the counter. “let’s go find a table!”
he sits down with a grunt, leaning back in the chair. “sieun said he would be able to make it, shouldn’t be too long.”
“hm? i didn’t see that message..” she mumbled, scrolling through their group chat.
“he texted me,” he smirks, feeling special that sieun told him directly. “i told you guys we are close.”
suho ignores her complaining, glancing back at beomseok. why was he just standing there? did he think he had to wait for their orders? he’s been acting funny ever since they went out today, maybe something happened.
“beom, come sit with us.” he waves his hand, tilting his head a bit.
beomseok stood still for a moment before walking over, he was barely even looking back at suho now. he didn’t have time to ask him what was wrong, the small bell from the stores door rings, sieun!
suho perks up, grinning. “sieun-ah, over here!”
“why are you so dressed up, sieun?” yeongi snickered a bit, eyeing him up and down. “did you actually have a date?”
sieun had just glared at her, that got a small laugh out of beomseok thankfully. maybe he was just shy to hangout with someone new, that’s probably all it was.
—
being home alone might have been better than listening to suho and yeongi butcher whatever song they were singing, sieuns head was hurting so badly before this too. but he didn’t want to ruin the mood by not coming to karaoke with them, they all looked so excited just from the mention of it.
sieun didn’t really like singing, the most he would do was hum along to a song. the thought of even humming in front of people made him nervous, he envied how confident they both were. maybe one day he would be able to simply hum around people and not feel like everyone was laughing at him. he was glad beomseok was sitting out for this song, so he didn’t feel like he was bringing down the mood by not participating in this humiliation ritual.
it was a bit entertaining to watch them make fun of each others singing though, being able to see people teasing each other and not truly mean it felt so refreshing to him.
“sieun-ah, do you want something to drink?”
he almost jumped from beomseok suddenly speaking, both of them had been silently judging yeongi and suho for a bit now. he looks over at him, nodding after a moment, he was about to stand up to go along with him when beomseok placed a hand on his arm.
“you can stay, i’ll be back soon!” he smiles, the lights in the room reflecting off his glasses made it hard to see his eyes. “dont let them bully you into singing, at least not while im gone.”
everyone was out to get him, clearly. he squints his eyes a bit as beomseok left, the lights outside the door felt so much brighter after being in this room. he was left alone to judge them now, the song was ending but they were still messing around. were they trying to see who can have the worst voice crack? so far it was suho, he didn’t know someone could sound like that.
he sighs in relief once they finally stop, his hand instinctively coming up to try to ease the tension in the back of his head.
“you wanna pick the next song, sieun?”
his hand pauses the second he touched his head, blinking a bit before shaking his head. because why would he want to pick the next song? did suho not know who he was by now?
“aw, you don’t wanna hear me sing your favorite song?” suho snorts.
sieun just glared at him, watching him sit down next to him while yeongi picks out a new song. he really hopes it’s a calmer song this time, but he was sure they would still find a way to shout the lyrics.
he felt a nudge to his arm, raising an eyebrow at suho.
“you were picking at your nails,” he mumbles, not wanting yeongi to hear. “are you good? you’ve seem more.. blah than usual.”
sieuns eyebrows furrow at that, looking down at his hands. he didn’t even notice he was messing with them, only now noticing how the tips of his fingers ached a bit. he that’s his sleeves down, shrugging in reply, not bothering to even try to speak.
“hm.. tired?”
sieun nods.
“do you want me to take you home?”
sieun shook his head, even though he was overwhelmed he was still having fun hanging out with all of them. he just wasn’t able to mentally prepare himself to go to karaoke.
“alright, just let me know if you want to leave. i’ll make up some excuse,” he leans down a bit to look at his face from his hunched over he was, smiling at him. “just try to have fun for now.”
“who’s phone is this? it’s been buzzing like crazy,” yeongi holds the phone out, microphone still in her other hand.
“uh.. that’s beomseoks, i think?” suho shrugs.
she turns the phone back to herself, pouting. “there’s no name on it, maybe it’s a scammer?”
if she thinks it’s a scammer why was she answering the call? sieun would never understand any of them.
“yah, stop calling! we are..” she goes quiet, setting the microphone down to put a hand on her hip. “oh. my bad, i thought you were just a spam caller. who’s this?”
their room door opens, sieuns frown deepens once he saw beomseok. he looked like he saw a ghost, his entire body looked like it was locked up.
“oh, hey! your friends called you, they said-“
beomseok snatched the phone out of her hands, practically punching the end call button. “what is your issue?! who answers someone else phone calls, are you stupid?!” he was getting in her face, his knuckles white from how tight he was holding his phone.
he jumped a bit at the shout, staring at beomseok with wide eyes. he could feel suho get up from next to him, sieun relaxed a bit. suho would calm them down, and everything would be fine again.
“woah, chill out, what’s wrong?” suho tried to pull yeongi away, but she just snatched her arm back, glaring at beomseok.
“i was trying to be nice, and you’re yelling at me?!” she hissed, “you gonna hit me, huh?! because i’m not scared to hit you back.”
the moment beomseok took another step forward suho pushed his way between them, putting a hand on his shoulder. “fuck, what’s with you?”
yeongi shoved past both of them swearing under her breath, sieun had only blinked once and she was already stomping out their room, suho following along after. sieun stood stiffly, keeping his eyes on beomseok while he caught his breath.
sieun always hated fighting, hated simple arguments too. he couldn’t even begin to understand what had made beomseok react so quickly like that, yeongis anger was the only thing that made sense to him. he wasn’t about to pick sides though, even the thought of it reminded him of his parents. almost every argument they had ended with sieun having to pick who was right, which was basically them asking who he loved more. you agree appas being silly, right? your eomma is acting crazy again, don’t you think?
the whole situation made him feel so uncomfortable and upset, because even though it was a useless argument he knew they both definitely had valid reasons for feeling that way. yeongi being yelled at for just being nice, she reacted how anyone would. beomseok… he had no idea, but no one reacted that way for no reason.
he wishes suho didn’t run after yeongi and leave him alone, everything felt so awkward.
—
“yeongi! would you stop?!” suho groaned, picking up his pace to keep up with her.
she spun around, suho almost colliding into her. “who does he think he is?! making himself look bigger, fucking asshole!”
“i don’t know, but can we just take a breather or something? my bodies still fucked up,” he tongues the inside of his cheek, feeling the headache forming slowly.
“i’m breathing just find, thank you very much.” she huffed, crossing her arms. “he’s been glaring at me ever since we got to the karaoke place.”
“no, he hasn’t.”
“yes, he has! you were too busy messing around with sieun to notice,” she closes her eyes, taking a moment to calm down a bit. “i’m being serious. he’s weird, only towards me.”
“alright, alright. i believe you, but im not sure why he’s acting like that.” he sighed, “let’s just give both of you some time to cool off, sound good?”
“ugh… i think i’ll just head back to your place, im over today.”
suho watched her start to walk again, looking back at the karaoke building before following after her. he hoped sieun was able to talk some sense into beomseok.
—
| ahn suho, yeon sieun(2)
| ahn suho
did u guys get home safely??
beoms not answering my texts
me |
Hello, Suho.
read 10:35
| ahn suho
hi sieunnn :D
me |
Beomseok-ssi told me he was going home, so I assume he got back fine.
read 10:35
| ahn suho
and u?
me |
I got home fine.
read 10:36
| ahn suho
that’s good 2 hear
today’s hangout was terrible lol
i hope ur feeling better now
u looked pretty down today D:
me |
?
I’m fine.
read 10:36
| ahn suho
didn’t seem like it tho
was it that thing u had to go to that upset u???
me |
Why are you so persistent on this?
read 10:36
| ahn suho
bc i CAREEEEE abt UUUUU
imagine im yelling that at u
me |
Oh, okay.
Ouch, my ears hurt. Please don’t yell again, you are very loud.
read 10:37
| ahn suho
lol cute
me |
???????
read 10:38
| ahn suho
anyways
whatever it was i hope it doesn’t bother u too much
try to sleep early tonight sieun~
me |
Okay.
Goodnight, Suho.
read 10:38
| ahn suho
gn sieun :D
—
suho was so exhausted, being woken up by yelling in the classroom was getting real old real quick. he had been so tired from working extra hours now that yeongi was staying with him, even though she also got a job at the same place he wanted to make sure they had enough money to be safe.
living with yeongi wasnt as bad as he thought, she got along with his halmeoni really well, he honestly thinks his halmeoni is excited to finally have another girl in the house. he is glad yeongi has a better older figure to be raised by, even though shes almost a legal adult, she deserves to have a stable homelife after everything.
but back to the yelling, he was about to just ignore it and try to sleep some more when he noticed it was beomseoks voice. suho sits up, rubbing his eyes.
“just shut your mouths, youre all so loud!”
the guys beomseok was yelling just scoffed in response, clearly not taking him seriously because who would? as far as suho knew they were just messing around with their friends, which is annoying but it’s free time in school. you are going to hear and see people playing around.
beomseok stood up quickly, his chair skidding back. “did you just laugh at me?” he hissed, getting in their faces.
“bro, what? we didnt even do anything to you, chill out.”
“i heard you laughing!” he shouts, smacking a chair out the way. “i asked you to shut up!”
what was his issue? beomseok has been in a mood ever since they went out with yeongi, and suho could not even begin to understand why he was acting like this. especially to people that truly havent done anything wrong.
suho stands up once he sees sieun walk over to beomseok, maybe he could help sieun try and get him before he did something stupid. sieun grabs onto his arm to pull him away, but beomseok just shoved his hand away. suho looks at him like he went crazy, sieun hadn’t done anything either and he was being treated like shit.
“you are just acting all tough because you got suho and sieun to fight your battles, it’s embarrassing.”
beomseok moved closer at that, suho wasnt even sure what he said in reply because he walks over and throws an arm over his shoulder. “what’s going on, hm?”
“your friend got pissed off at us for no reason, get him to chill out!”
“go fuck yourself, you were being loud on purpose even after i told you to be quiet!” beomseok hissed, reaching out to grab onto him.
suho holds him back, his eyes widening in shock. “fuck, calm down! that's enough, beomseok!” he tugs beomseok away, looking at him. “what is up with you, huh? acting so tough out of nowhere, real funny to watch.” suho looks over his shoulder, nodding his head at sieun. “let’s go get some food, take a walk.”
he feels his arm be shoved away, and when he looks back at beomseok he was glaring at him.
“stop putting your arm around me, it pisses me off.”
he almost wanted to laugh at how weird he was acting, he simply scoffs instead. “really now?” suho knew he was being an asshole for standing up straighter, but it made beomseok back off a bit at least.
suho honestly expected him to argue back with him but he just looked defeated, he was about to push more when beomseok just walks out the classroom without another word. suho let out an exhausted huff, turning back to sieun. “what is up with him?”
sieun just shrugged, no help.
“hah, what an idiot.”
—
the weather felt so dull and gloomy, the clouds covering the sunlight usually would make suho feel disappointed, but making sieun run around made up for it. suho wasnt doing this to make fun of him, he was really just helping him. if sieun would continue to attract trouble he might as well get his stamina fixed, it was also kinda concerning how he would be out of breath just from running for a couple minutes.
suho rubs his cold nose with his sleeves, scrolling through his texts messages to beomseok, still left on delivered. he had no idea what was up with this guy lately, it was like his entire personality switched. suho had went through every conversation they had to see if he had said something wrong to upset him, but he couldnt think of anything. he knows it couldnt be because of sieun either, he was more of a listener anyways. with yeongi… it still didnt make any sense, she hadnt done anything and beomseok still acted off towards her. it couldn’t have been her answering his phone either, he was being weird way before that.
not to mention what happened at school, it was like something switched in his brain and made him immediately furious. beomseok was being so nasty towards everyone, even sieun. suho really couldn’t understand how someone can be mad at sieun, all he does he stare and study.
the whole situation made suho irritated, it felt to immature and a waste of time to him.
the second he hears sieuns panting get closer he shoves his phone back in his pocket, “see? i told you you wouldnt pass out.” he snorts, he didnt even have to look to know sieun was rolling his eyes. “dont you feel good after working out in the morning? it’s refreshing.”
sieun just sighed.
“oh, by the way has beomseok talked to you recently?” he hears sieun mumble no, “do you have any idea what his issue is? he hasnt answered any of my texts or calls.”
“..no idea.” sieun pauses, still catching his breath. “maybe.. we could go see him?”
well, that’s a better idea than what suho was thinking. he had been planning to just keep giving beomseok space, and hope whatever it was be fixed on its own.
suho sits up with a grunt, looking over at sieun. the sweat on his face makes him look better somehow, maybe it was because it was proof he was exercising instead of being hunched over notes. but it also made suho feel nervous, especially with how hard sieun was staring back at him.
“you think that will work? he seems sure on not talking to anyone.”
“mm, can’t hurt to try.”
“alright, let’s do it.” suho stands up, stretching his stiff legs after sitting for so long. he moves towards sieun, “get up, you’ve rested enough don’t you think?”
if sieun really was a cat he would surely hiss at suho, ears pinned back and all with the way he was glaring up at suho.
“come on, i promised you i would teach you how to fight better! instead of that clumsy technique you’ve got going,” he grabs ahold of sieuns arm, ignoring the jolt of excitement he got from feeling his sweaty skin, before easily snatching him up. he gives him a small shove to start walking, smirking as he heard him grumble under his breath. “every complaint you make adds longer workouts, sieun-ah.”
once sieun stops walking he looks him up and down, purposely being dramatic to annoy him. suho shakes his head, sighing just to see sieuns face scrunch up more. “your stance is all wrong, why do you look like it hurts to even sit up? relax a bit,” he reaches out, running his hands down sieuns arms to ease out some of the tension.
with his hands still on his arms he looks down at sieuns shoes, nudging one of them with his foot. “keep them apart,” sieun moves them after an irritated sigh, listening well. “yeah. just like that, sieun-ah”
“dont forget to keep your chin tucked in as well, you dont want to get knocked out the second you get hit.” suho knew he was pushing it with all this touching, but he couldnt help himself, being able to move sieun however he wanted made him giddy. his touch was gentle despite wanting to squish his face so badly in that moment, tilting sieuns head down.
“you should make sure to keep your chin protected with your arms too, dont forget that. because it could save you.” he pulls his arms up, letting his hands slide up to his wrists. suho grinned as he lightly taps sieuns cheeks with his own balled up fists, feeling even more excited just seeing how his face looked right now.
even though he rarely had any other emotion besides a blank stare, sieun looked so cute to suho. he really wanted to keep an entire album of pictures of sieun, no matter how unflattering the angle could be, to suho it was still beautiful. whenever he would look over at sieun just for him to be staring right back, his heart felt like it was going to burst out his chest.
“alright, just imagine im some random guy trying to beat you up. life or death kind of situation, got it?” suho taps his shoulder, smiling at him. “it’s way better to look at their shoulder instead of their eyes, you’ll miss something if you keep staring at them.”
sieun looking at his shoulder just because he told him to made suho want to look away, it felt too good.
he feigns a punch, watching sieuns eyes move towards his fist. “see? now, when their shoulder comes closer all you need to do is duck and grab them.” demonstrating it, he wraps his arms around sieuns waist, leaning his head into his side more than necessary. “then, just grab onto their knees and shove them over as hard as you can. boom!”
sieun falls over easily, even though suho barely pushed him. unless he was just humoring suho, either way it made him feel excited with how easy he can move him around.
looking down at him, hands resting on his hips. “the last thing…” he trails off, the last thing would be to keep going but suho didnt even like the idea of sieun fighting in general. the thought of him getting beat up made his stomach hurt, sieun wasnt meant for any violence. suho sighs a little, not strong enough to keep up their staring contest, he looks away. “just run once theyre down, youre smart enough to know that is the better option.”
suho helps sieun up, frowning as he rubs a thumb over his bruised knuckles. they were almost healed but it made suho so upset that sieun was even put in that position, where he was forced to fight if he wanted to protect himself. “promise me you’ll run, even if you really dont want to.”
“but what if you..”
“yah, why are you thinking of anyone but yourself in this situation?” suho squeezed his hand once before letting go, his chest aching even though he was the one to let go. “i can handle a fight just fine, dont worry about me. besides, i would feel much better knowing youre getting far away from something like that. so, promise me.”
sieun looked like he was going to argue more so suho leaned in closer, tilting his head with an eyebrow raised. try to fight me on this, you’ll lose.
“...mm, i promise.” sieun mumbles, looking away from suhos gaze. i won.
—
every bump suhos motorcycle hit made sieun cling tighter onto the back of his shirt, he really thinks they couldve taken a taxi to beomseoks, but suho had insisted it would be faster this way.
he always thought motorcycles were annoying just from how loud they were, not to mention anyone that rode one instantly was a horrible stuck up person to sieun. they always thought they were so cool. suho thought he was cool, but it didnt annoy sieun as much as it usually would, maybe he really did have a soft spot for his friends.
on a particular red light suho hit the brakes a bit harder, making sieuns cheek hit his shoulder. “you are going to fall off if you hold on like that,” suho reached behind, grabbing him by his belt and tugging him as close as possible. he grabs his arms next, wrapping it around his waist. “hold on tight. i dont need you slipping off just because i stop too hard.”
sieun glared at the back of his head, but holds on tighter. it was his fault anyways, hes the one that purposefully hit the brakes harder just so sieuns face would push against his shoulder. but he couldnt get truly mad, not when he could still feel the tingly sensation he left just from touching sieun. it made him feel weird all over again. he allowed himself to be greedy with it, resting his head against his shoulder.
once traffic starts back up sieun sighed in relief, his face felt so warm and the wind cooled him off. maybe the helmet was making him overheat, the top of his head felt so itchy too, maybe he was just allergic to suho. because everytime he is near him he feels off, his stomach hurts being pressed against his warm back. he might actually be overheating.
suho felt so warm, he doesnt usually want to touch someone or be touched by someone, but it felt so comforting to completely melt into him. it was different with suho compared to everyone else, everything was different with him.
he lets himself relax against suho, his eyes were closed until the engine stops once they made it to beomseoks home. suho pats sieuns thigh after he just kept sitting, sighing he gets off with a bit of struggle.
suho holds back a laugh while watching him tug the helmet off, before looking around beomseoks neighborhood. “wah, i knew beomseok had money but his place is so nice.” he gets off, way more gracefully than sieun did. “if hes this rich it makes so much more sense how he just throws money around, i hope im that comfortable in the future.”
sieun just stared at him, blinking slowly.
“it was a joke, you never laugh at my jokes.” he pouts, ruffling sieuns already messy hair. “come on, lets go drag him out his house.”
the walk to beomseoks door was quiet, sieun was a bit nervous he was making it awkward but everytime he looked over at suho he seemed to be content. like he was totally fine just enjoying sieuns presence, sometimes he looked like he was really having the time of his life.
“he better come out, after we came all this way” suho mumbled, ringing the doorbell.
“be nice.”
“got it.”
suho rings the doorbell a few more times before it finally opens, and sieun couldnt help but make a face at beomseok. he looked like he hadnt showered in days, he smelled like he hadnt either. he looked so messy compared to his usual put together appearance, sieun frowns a bit, he must have really been going through it.
“what… what are you guys doing here?”
sieun assumed suho was going to do all the talking but it stayed quiet, he glanced over at him just to find him grimacing as well at beomseoks appearance. suho smiled for a moment, letting it fall almost immediately. “did you turn your phone off, bro? we’ve been trying to text and call you a bunch, you shouldnt worry sieun like that.”
sieun scoffed at that, why was he messing around when they came here to talk some sense into beomseok?
“ah… im sorry, i didnt know it was off. i think it’s broke…” beomseok muttered, his voice sounded like it was wavering a bit too. he shuffles out the way, opening the door wider. “come in, do you guys want any water?”
“hm, maybe later.”
suho and sieun walk into his place, taking their shoes off at the door. sieun being more calculated even with simple things like this, suho just left his shoes where he kicked them off.
“also why about school? you havent been going, youre missing out on a bunch of work.”
sieun shoved his arm, glaring even when he pretended to wince. who did this guy think he was? telling someone they were missing out on lessons when he sleeps half of the time he is at school.
“ive just been a little under the weather,”
“wah, your place is huge. do you ever get tired just from walking around here?” suho had zero manners, because he was roaming around and touching everything. “you probably lose weight just from going to the kitchen, that’s why youre so skinny, beom-ah.”
he sighs a bit as suho walks off, still rambling away at how cool beomseoks place was. sieun looks at beomseok, “are you actually sick?”
“mm, im feeling a little better now.” beomseok mumbles, “it was worse yesterday, i should be back at school soon.”
“beom! this is your eomma right?” suho called out, pointing at a picture on the wall. “shes really beautiful, you look a lot like her! ooh, your whole family looks so nice..”
“we arent related.” beomseok said, his voice dull. “i was adopted for a publicity stunt, we arent family at all.”
they both stare at beomseok for a moment, suho almost laughed at how awkward the atmosphere was now. “oh.. that sucks, sorry about that.”
they all talk for a bit before they are all sitting at the couch, suho was gulping down the drinks beomseok brought them. as if he hadnt drunk anything in weeks, he is so gross.
“... beomseok,” sieun starts, “did something happen?”
“huh? nothing, i told you guys ive just been a little sick..”
“dude, just tell us whats up so we can help you.” suho huffed, setting the glass down with a small clink. “we arent stupid, you look like shit but it is not because you feel sick.”
sieun was about to lose his mind, they had both agreed to be as gentle as possible. was this gentle to him? joking around, being blunt? sure, sieun was just as blunt if not worse. but suho could have phrased it way better.
“was it about those guys from karaoke?”
“what guys?” suho frowns, looking at sieun. “how come you know something i dont?”
“be quiet…”
beomseok fidgets where he sat, going back from looking at sieun to his hands over and over again. he already looked visibly nervous, but even the mention of those guys and he looked like he was deciding if he should move to another country and never contact anyone ever again.
“they.. are just some guys that messed with me at my old school,” he mumbled, staring down at his lap. “it’s the reason i transferred to the school here. after i got put into a hospital because of them. but i can only run away for so long. they would keep calling and messaging since i left.. it only got worse after they saw me at karaoke.”
“damn, what did you even do to make them that mad?” suho scoffed.
sieun elbows him, ignoring his whine.
“i.. i didnt do anything, people like them just pick on anyone below them.” beomseoks voice raised a bit, “what did i do wrong? did i just happen to look at them for too long that day? i didnt do anything!”
“we arent blaming you,” sieun mumbled, trying to calm down beomseok who was already upset. “we just.. want to understand the situation. none of it was your fault.”
beomseok squeezed his mouth shut, eyes shining a bit as he lets his words sink in.
“call them,” suho said, his tone completely serious. beomseok and sieun both look at him like he was insane. “i’ll make them apologize to you, for everything. i’ll make sure they never mess with you again, beomseok-ah.”
“what? no, suho that..” beomseok stammered, “that will just make everything worse! you dont understand, you dont get it.”
“im telling you i will make them leave you alone.”
beomseok stayed silent before sighing, his entire body drooping. “...alright.”
—
even though suhos body was still a bit sore from all the fighting theyve been doing he didnt feel nervous about this, especially since these people deserve to be humbled. no one innocent should be scared just to leave their home, beomseok didnt deserve that. suho was still irritated with him yelling at yeongi, but he still wanted to defend his friend.
“karaoke again? do these guys have nothing better to do, dont they know it’s important to study right now?” suho sighed, ignoring how sieun rolled his eyes. he knew he was the last person that should say something about studying. he throws an arm around beomseoks shoulder, he really did look like he was about to be sick. “i got this, beom-ah. you wont have to worry about these assholes after this.”
beomseok looked at him, he didnt look comforted at all by his words. he pushed suhos arm off before walking after sieun, already inside the karaoke building. damn, he’s really in a bad mood. suho huffed, following them inside.
the sound of so many people singing made suhos head hurt a bit, the mix of horrible singing and actual good singing was pretty funny to him though. he cant judge them too much since he would usually yell into the microphone when he went, but that just makes it fun.
being here to beat some sense into these guys will probably ruin karaoke places for them for a bit though, they’ll have to find better places to hangout after he gets everything settled with.
once they make it to the room beomseok pauses in front of the door, his face somehow looked paler. suhos eyebrows furrowed, placing a hand on his shoulder. “you can wait outside if it’s too much for you, beom-ah.”
“i’m fine.” he muttered, pushing suhos hand away before opening the door.
the second they walk in the singing dies down almost comically, the music is turned off as well.
“woah, he actually came!” one of them said, laughing. “you brought your friends?”
suho scrunched his nose up once he smelled the cigarettes, groaning a bit. “fuck, it reeks in here.”
“yah, beomseok, why did you bring these guys with you?” another spoke up, the ‘leader’ suho assumed. “still too much of a pussy?”
“…apologize,” beomseok started, “i want you all to apologize to me.”
they all start to laugh, in disbelief and just to mock him. “apologize for what?”
“for… for everything you guys did.”
he pouts a bit, tilting his head. “we apologize, i’m so sorry about everything. we are still friends, hm? we had so much fun, what’s up with you?”
“these guys…” suho sighed, staring at them. “you call that an apology? even five year olds know how to say they’re sorry correctly, so do it right before i beat all of you up” he walks forward, standing next to beomseok who looked almost frozen in place.
that clearly didn’t scare him because he got off the couch, keeping his eyes on beomseok. “i’m asking you, what’s your deal?” he said, smirking at him. “are you saying you want to be friends again? you want to hang out every single day, huh?”
beomseok flinched back, suho was getting so irritated by the second. he reaches out and grabs the guy by his ear tightly, tugging him away from beomseok and sieun. “what did i just say? start apologizing correctly before i actually get pissed off.”
the guy cried out a bit at his grip, suho only holds on tighter. “fuck, i get it! i understand, just.. let go!”
suho shoved his head away, watching him stumble forward before grabbing him by his hair to get him to stand up straight. “go ahead, and mean it this time.”
he rubbed at his ear a bit before looking at beomseok, jaw tense as he spoke. “i’m sorry, truly i am.”
“if you’re actually sorry… let me hit you.”
“what?”
both suho and sieun look at beomseok, he was kinda hoping this would go by smoothly without fighting but clearly it would not.
“you aren’t really sorry, i know that.” beomseok said, “so let me hit you.”
suho raised an eyebrow when the asshole looked over at him, “just let him hit you and get it over with, you’ll live.”
he looks back at beomseok, hissing. “i already apologized to you! im super sorry, you want me to get on my knees too?!”
smack! his head turns to the side from how hard beomseok slapped him, that only made him more furious. he turns back, smacking him just as hard with a curse. beomseoks glasses fell to the ground with a clatter.
suho could see sieun moving closer to beomseok, but he was more worried about the guy that just smacked his friend. suho grabs him by the collar with one hand, shoving him back until his back hits the wall roughly, making him groan. the other guys were shitty friends, just watching him handle him so hard.
he hears sieun shout beomseoks name, making suho turn around because he has never heard sieun shout like that. he hasn’t even heard him speak louder than a mumbled. the second he sees beomseok approaching with a microphone his heart picks up, he was thankful he was quick enough to grab his wrist before he could actually swing it.
“what the fuck?! beomseok, chill out!” he shouts, gripping onto him harder than he really means to. “that’s enough, you got what you wanted! don’t do something you’ll regret,”
the microphone shrieks a bit from all the movement, beomseok was staring right past suho. “fucking let go, asshole!”
suho grits his teeth as he pushes him backwards, stumbling a bit when he tries to kick the asshole behind him. he really didn’t want to protect a bully like that, but rathers beomseok not get blood on his hands. he winced when beomseok throws the microphone, the shrieking made his head pound.
it was tiring having the basically drag beomseok out while he was kicking and screaming, but he really needed to walk off before he did something terrible. suhos heart aches as he listens to him start to cry, he wasn’t sure if it was from being scared or from how angry he was. probably both, if he was honest.
beomseok shoved him away once they were far enough, gasping for air.
“fuck, i’m sorry, did i hurt you?” suho asked, reaching out to look over him.
beomseok just shoved his hands away, glaring through his tears. “i told you to stop doing that, quit putting your arm around me! quit fucking dragging me around!”
“huh?”
“who are you to order me around?!” he shouts, rubbing away the tears in his eyes roughly. “you don’t get to tell me to stop either, those assholes put me through so much!”
“bro, what?” suho scoffed in disbelief, “when have i ever order you around?”
“every single day! it’s my choice if i want to fuck them up, i’m not your follower!”
suho could see sieun in the corner of his eyes, but he kept looking at beomseok. “what are you talking about? did i do something to upset you, i can’t read your mind.” his closed his eyes, he couldn’t hold back how irritated he was now. his eyes open, voice raising a bit. “i didn’t go to my part time job to help you, why the fuck are you mad at me for?!”
sieun made a distressed noise, moving closer to them. they both didn’t pay any attention to him though, didn’t even spare him a glance.
“you guys are the ones that offered to help me out!” beomseok hissed, his fists clenched at his side. “you want me to give you some money for missing your little job, huh?”
there was nothing more that suho hated than someone that flaunted their money, like he was below them just because he wasn’t well off. beomseok was either dense or just didnt care that suho worked all these jobs to help his halmeoni, he had zero idea how it feels to have to work to even breathe.
suho shoved him into a wall, gripping his collar. “what is your problem? say it again with your chest this time, or are you too scared?”
beomseok just stared at him, still breathing too quickly but suho couldnt even bother feeling guilty. he was about to shove him harder into the wall when sieun grabs onto his wrist, trying to pull him away. suho resisted for a moment, thinking it over, this was a total waste of his time. so, he lets him arm be pulled away.
all the anger suho felt made him feel sick to his stomach, and beomseok just swore under his breath while he walks away. he didn’t even apologize, and that just pissed him off more.
he takes a deep breath before turning towards sieun, his stomach hurt more the second he sees him. sieun looked visibly anxious, his hands clenching and unclenching.
when sieun moves to follow after beomseok he grabs his arm, stopping him. “just give him space, he’s not going to listen to anyone right now.” sieun glared at him, trying to pull away. he kept making frustrated noises, but suho kept holding his arm. “yah, stop it! he’s not going to care what you have to say, sieun!”
suho feels guilty immediately when sieun looks so upset at him, his mouth staying shut tight. he could see how badly he wanted to speak, maybe to even yell at suho for being an idiot. suho lets his hand hold onto his wrist gently instead, rubbing his thumb into him.
“i’m sorry for yelling at you, i just..” he huffs, trying to get all his thoughts together while still being upset himself. “you are freaking out, and i don’t know how to help you, sieun-ah.”
sieun looks away, his entire body looked stiff. he still doesn’t know how to help him and it’s freaking him out, not being able to comfort someone he cared about made him feel like such a shitty friend.
“do you want to go home?” he asks, sieun nods. “do you want me to take you?” he nods again, suho felt relieved he was helping a bit even though it still didn’t feel like anything.
“alright, i can do that. do you want me to get you something to eat on the way? food always helps me when..” he’s cut off by sieun covering his mouth, his clammy palm against his lips made his entire body shiver.
suho stares at him wide eyed even when he pulls his hand away, this would definitely feel worse than being told to shut up. but he honestly didn’t mind it, not when he can still feel his hand against him.
he must have been just standing there dumbly because he feels sieun grab him by his wrist, tugging him along to leave. suho just lets him, if sieun wants to leave then they’ll leave. if sieun wants him to be quiet, then he’ll shut up. simple as that.
—
| ahn suho, yeon sieun(2)
| ahn suho
hi sieun
i’m assuming texting is ok with u
me |
Are you back home? Don’t text and drive.
And yes, texting is fine. Obviously…
read 12:34
| ahn suho
yes i’m home
i would never text and drive!!!
r u feeling better ??
me |
Yes, I apologize for how I reacted.
Truthfully I’m not used to having friends this long, I guess I just got anxious with Beomseok-ah leaving like that.
read 12:35
| ahn suho
i get it
well not fully BUT don’t be sorry 4 how u reacted
it’s only human
me |
So, you see me as a human now?
read 12:35
| ahn suho
huh?? of course i do
wdym
me |
You keep saying I’m like a cat.
Sorry, bad joke I guess.
read 12:36
| ahn suho
OH
no i get it now that’s my bad lol
ur too cute
me |
Okay..
read 12:36
| ahn suho
i do want 2 ask something tho
me |
?
Go on.
read 12:36
| ahn suho
well actually it’s 2 questions LOL
do u get like that often? and how would can i help when u get like that?
me |
No, it doesn’t.
You don’t have to help, I can handle it fine.
read 12:37
| ahn suho
that’s nice that u can sieun-ah
but i don’t think u understood, i WANT 2 help u
even if its just me being quiet
me |
You are very annoying.
But, today all I needed was for it to be as quiet as possible. Just being there with me helped more than I thought it would.
read 12:38
| ahn suho
so just be myself ??
i can do that lol
it’s late, try to get as much sleep as u can
don’t worry this hyung so much :(
me |
…Alright.
Goodnight, Suho-yah.
read 12:38
| ahn suho
night sieun-ah <3
me |
<3
read 12:39
when sieun sets his phone down he was hoping to swirl he felt in his stomach would go away, but it felt like it worsened. maybe he was getting sick, it was probably suhos fault, he only felt sick whenever he was talking to him. even being in the same room as him made his head spin, nothing in his life made sense anymore and this should upset him. but for some reason it made him feel excited, though not much since he was still calming down from today.
he felt a bit self conscious after suho had to see him almost have a meltdown, and suho had tried so hard to comfort him. at least he just wanted to help, but he didnt want help with that part of him. sieun felt so shameful everytime he gets like that, he was so glad it rarely happen. saved him from being eaten alive with shame.
sieuns eyes droop the second he sees his bed, carelessly falling into it and rolling himself up with his blankets. he really hopes beomseok feels better tomorrow, and that everything can go back to normal.