Chapter Text
sun and moon
sun : hyung
sun : hyunhg please answe r
moon : im here baby
moon : whats wrong?
sun : hyugnn i cant bretahe
sun : i dnot feel goo d
moon : okay angel focus for me ok?
moon : want to facetime? or just call?
sun : faceitmme plsea
moon : of course, hold on
moon is calling sun…
jaebum waits for jinyoung to pick up, hurriedly putting in his earphones, and once jinyoung does pick up, jaebum immediately whispers, “jinyoungie? where are you right now?”
“b-bathroom,” jinyoung hiccups, rubbing his eye with his fist. “i-i got out of — out of psychology.”
“deep breaths, jirongie, deep breaths,” jaebum says gently, taking deep breaths to demonstrate to get jinyoung to follow his steps. “follow my breathing.”
they’re silent for a while as jinyoung shakily follows jaebum’s breathing. once jaebum’s determined that jinyoung’s breathing isn’t as quick, jaebum says, “can you tell me what happened?”
“w-we, uh,” jinyoung starts, coughing to clear his throat. “we — we talked about stuff like ptsd after a-abusive relationships. someone in the class — i don’t know who — he called out my name as an e-example and said i should t-talk about it.”
jaebum clenches his fist, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “and the professor—?”
“sh-she knew that he was, well, being a dick,” jinyoung sniffles, digging his nails into his cheek and letting go when jaebum says his name sternly. “s-sorry. she excused me to l-leave for the class — and it’s m-my last class, so i’m done—”
“okay, okay, breathe, don’t panic and ramble,” jaebum says, immediately getting up and putting on his socks and shoes, glad he didn’t change out of his work clothes just yet. “i’m going to come right over, okay? youngjae and yugyeom should be in the art room, you can go in there, okay?”
“okay,” jinyoung nods, shakily standing up. jaebum grabs his wallet and keys before going downstairs, calling out, “jackson! i’m going to go pick up jirongie, and youngjae and yugyeom, too.”
he hears jackson call back an answer, but he’s already out the door, going to the car. he gets in the car and closes the door, taking out and unplugging his earphones and turning up the volume on his phone. “jinyoungie? where are you now?”
“i’m in the art hallway,” jinyoung says, and jaebum glances down at the screen to see jinyoung speed walking his way through the hall. he starts the car and pulls out of the driveway, starting to drive to the university. “ah — i’m at the room.”
jaebum listens as jinyoung enters the class, talking softly to the professor before falling silent. jaebum furrows his eyebrows, keeping his eyes on the road, and he sighs with relief when he hears yugyeom say into the mic of the earphones, “hey, hyung! we’re with jinyoung hyung now. are you coming over?”
“yeah, i’m on my way,” jaebum says. “i’m about five or so minutes away. you can hang up, jirongie — i’ll meet you guys there and pick you three up.”
“okay!” yugyeom says cheerfully, and jaebum can hear youngjae whispering to jinyoung. “we’ll see you in a bit, hyung. we’ll keep jinyoungie calm.”
when jaebum arrives, he hurries over to the art area of the university, the only thought in his mind being jinyoung jinyoung jinyoung . as soon as he reaches the art room, he opens the door and quietly enters. he goes up to the professor, who smiles at him — she was kind and understanding, especially since jaebum came by often to pick up jinyoung, yugyeom, and youngjae. the professor looks back to her papers and says, “do you mind waiting until their done with their assignments? they’re almost done.”
“of course,” jaebum says, and he goes over to the three of them, youngjae scooting over a little bit so jaebum can pull up a chair and sit next to jinyoung. “hey, guys.”
jinyoung immediately leans his head against jaebum’s shoulder, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. jaebum rubs his back gently, and youngjae whispers, “hey, hyung.”
“what are you guys working on?” jaebum asks quietly, continuing to rub jinyoung’s back soothingly.
“i’m touching up on one of my photos of you and jinyoungie.” yugyeom turns his computer and shows jaebum, who smiles widely. “it looked nice in black and white, so i turned it into that.”
“it looks super good, gyeommie,” jaebum praises softly. “your photography improved a lot, i’m proud.”
yugyeom blushes over jaebum’s praise, and jaebum ruffles his hair before turning to youngjae. “and you, jae?”
“ah, i’m painting some flowers,” youngjae says, looking up at jaebum. “i’m just fixing up some stuff, sorry.”
“don’t worry, it’s okay,” jaebum reassures. “your painting looks good, too.”
“the day i do good human paintings it’s over for all of you,” youngjae mumbles jokingly, and jaebum snorts. “thank you, hyung.”
jaebum hums and turns to jinyoung, who still has his eyes closed, his breathing slowly steadying. he kisses jinyoung’s forehead, mumbling, “you feeling better, baby?”
“i feel really tired now,” jinyoung mumbles, holding jaebum’s hand. “and hungry. can we get food? or is there food at home?”
“depends what kind of food you want,” jaebum whispers. “do you want to get something like burgers? or do you want me to tell sseun to make something like ramen or jajangmyeon?”
“mm, burgers and fries sound nice.” jinyoung smiles with a slightly loopy yet content smile. “can i please have a burger… can i pleeeaaaseee have a burger…”
jaebum chuckles at jinyoung’s slightly loopy state, cooing, “yes, angel, you can get a burger. yugy, jae, you two okay with that?”
“whatever jinyoung hyung wants, we’re fine with,” yugyeom says with a smile, not looking up from his computer as he continues editing.
“yay,” jinyoung says softly, snuggling closer to jaebum. “yay.”
“hyung’s cute,” youngjae chuckles, setting down his paintbrush. “gyeom, you almost done?”
“mhm, i just need to export it and email it to the professor,” yugyeom says. “jinyoungie hyung, are you okay if i pop my neck? i don’t know if that sound is something that you classify as something you’re sensitive to after anxiety attacks…”
“that’s fine,” jinyoung mumbles, wincing slightly when yugyeom pops his neck. “ah, that was a loud one.”
“sorry, hyung,” yugyeom apologizes guiltily. he hums happily as he closes his laptop, saying, “okay! i’m done.”
youngjae nods and gets up to hand his artwork to the professor, and jaebum coos, “c’mon, nyoung, we’re gonna go home now.”
once yugyeom and youngjae gather their things, jaebum helps jinyoung up, quietly thanking the professor again before the four of them leave to go home.
“thank you, hyung, for coming for me,” jinyoung mumbles quietly. he and jaebum are cuddling in their bed, jinyoung’s cheek pressed against jaebum’s chest. jaebum’s rubbing jinyoung’s back gently, and jinyoung’s eyes keep fluttering in content at being held, stomach full and no longer having the sinking feeling of emptiness. “and that you answered so fast…”
“of course,” jaebum says, looking down at jinyoung. “why wouldn’t i? i have my phone next to me at all times and i have specific ringtones for you, just in case something’s wrong, and you know that.”
“i know, it’s just…” jinyoung looks up at jaebum shyly, fisting jaebum’s shirt. “sometimes it’s still surreal that you care so much? like i know you do, but after what my ex had done those years ago…”
“you still sometimes have that mindset of not feeling worth it,” jaebum finishes softly. jinyoung opens his mouth to apologize, but jaebum continues, “don’t you dare apologize. i understand that that’s just how your mind works sometimes. but you’ve also grown so much from it that it doesn’t take over as often anymore, and that makes me so happy and proud.”
jinyoung sniffles and hides his face against jaebum’s chest, and jaebum laughs, pulling jinyoung closer. “gosh, don’t cry, sweetie. i love you so much.”
“i love you, too,” jinyoung says, voice muffled against jaebum’s shirt. “a lot .”
jaebum wraps both of his arms around jinyoung, a soft smile on his face as jinyoung slowly relaxes and falls asleep in his arms. “i know, angel. and i love you most.”
jaebum finds himself drifting off, too, and he smiles before he sleeps when he hears a tiny, “i love you most, you dummy.”
he’ll continue the debate tomorrow.