Work Text:
It was sudden.
Thursday afternoon, the sun was high in the sky and clouds nowhere to be seen. Quite a rare sight for the middle of winter.
Dongho walked into the meeting, clueless and confused. It’s their break, why were they being called in now?
At the table sat Jaewon, Minsoo, and CEO Park. The CEO was clearly frustrated, while Minsoo’s head was lowered, elbows on the table and his fingers intertwined with each other, shielding his eyes from the glaring ceiling light above them. Jaewon, on the other hand, sat silently, face expressionless and devoid of emotion.
Dongho swallowed thickly and asked, just above an anxious whisper, “What’s going on?”
“Daehyun’s dead. He jumped off a building yesterday.”
Oh.
Oh.
***
“Dongho-hyung! Let’s go outside!”
Dongho lets a tiny smile form on his lips. He’s so cute.
“Dae-yah, it’s raining. You’ll get a cold.”
“So I’ll wear a coat and bring an umbrella. Come on! Let’s go get some coffee or boba or something. I’m thirtsy.”
Dae jumps off the couch and pulls on his puffy coat, his glasses, and fixes his hair in a mirror placed in the hallway of their pipe dream apartment. Dongho laughs.
“What do you mean? We have boba right here.” He pulls his cat off his lap and plops her down on the ground, eliciting an annoyed purr out of her.
“Not that boba, hyung! She’s too purrfect to be drank.”
“Drank? Do you mean drunk?”
Dae flicks his forehead, “No! Cats can’t get drunk.”
He sits back on the couch. Dongho lands next to him and gazes into his eyes.
He’s there. But he’s not.
“I love you, Daehyun-ah.”
“I’m sorry hyung.”
That never happened. Dongho's eyes travel to his hands, even with how hard he's trying to stop it. When he looks up again the couch is empty.
***
Dongho's awake.
He’s covered in sweat. It’s hot. Why is it so hot? Dongho sits up in his bed.
Water. Need water.
He drinks a glass of water. His throat still burns, still aches. Of course, how could he think it would satisfy?
It won’t stop.
God, why won’t it stop?
Please make it stop.
Please stop.
Stop.
Please.
Stop.
Dae.
I love you.