Chapter Text
By the time Ryul came back to the dorm, it was already midnight. He slipped off his shoes, hoping that everyone was in bed.
".. Ryul?"
His heart sank.
Ohyul was laying in the living room, a blanket wrapped around his chest and his phone lying in his lap. He looked up the second Ryul had entered. "Oh.. you're back. I thought practice ended hours ago."
"Yeah.. um.. I stayed behind.."
"Oh."
The silence that followed their conversation was way heavier than it should've been. Normally, Ohyul would've kept talking. Asked about how practice went. Complained about how loud Louis and Woojin were even though it was past midnight. But he didn't.
Ryul shuffled awkwardly. ".. I'm going to head to bed."
"Oh...Goodnight."
"Night."
He turned around before he could change his mind.
"Ryul?"
He stopped. "Yeah..?"
"Never mind."
Ryul stood there.. waiting for him to say something. But when no other words were said.. he nodded and walked back to his room, still feeling Ohyul's eyes on him.
The next days were a blur.. nothing went differently. Ryul kept his distance, answered when he was spoken to, and showed up to every schedule. Nothing seemed different from the outside.
But every time Ohyul walked into a room, Ryul found himself walking out of it.
Everytime Ohyul took one step closer.. Ryul took one step back.
Slowly, the smile that was normally always on Ohyul's face began harder and harder to find.
One evening, while everyone else was arguing on what to eat for dinner, Ryul slipped onto the balcony to get a breath of fresh air. It helped clear his head.. or so he hoped.
The balcony door stood out a few moments after. "I know you'd be here. Don't think I didn't hear you."
Ryul didn't have to turn around "Oh."
Ohyul stepped beside him, his hands resting on the railing, siilence lingering for a bit. "Did I do something wrong?", Ohyul asks, looking wounded.
Ryul felt his stomach drop to his feet. "What?"
"You've been avoiding me."
"I haven't.", Ryul firmly says.
"You have." Ohyuls tone wasn't accusing.
If anything.. it sounded hurt.
"I keep thinking about it.", Ohyul chuckles quietly. "I keep thinking about what I could possibly be doing wrong, but I don't understand. I don't understand why you've become so distant from... from me."
"You haven't done anything."
"Then why won't you stay?!! Why do you keep leaving me?", Ohyul shouts before quickly stopping himself to stop the others inside from hearing.
Ryul blinked.
Because if he were to stay..
he'd never leave.
"I'm.. I'm just tired, Ohyul."
His fingers squeezed the edges of the railing until they hurt. The words came out automatically by now, he paid no mind to his cold responses.
Ohyul stared at him for what felt like an eternity, nodding his head.
"Okay."
And for Ryul, that hurt him more than if he'd argued.