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Even in a semi-conscious state due to oversleeping, Woosung didn't need much to know that there was something wrong there, after all, there was an empty chair at the breakfast table - and he knew perfectly well whose seat it was, since Hajoon had made a point of determining fixed places for everyone at the table, and although Woosung disregarded it sometimes, everyone used to follow that stupid-looking rule. But they respected it, after all, each one with his own weirdness.
"Jaehyeong didn't get up?" The Korean-American asked, following the noise of the chair being dragged away from the table. He sat up and finally faced the other two with the lack of response. Hajoon kept chewing and Dojoon seemed to think of the right words to use, a fact that made Woosung come up with an answer on his own. "Rainy day?"
"Exactly" Dojoon confirmed, pointing the spoon in the elder's direction.
Rainy days. This was how they referred to Jaehyeong's bad days, after all, only a beautiful storm would be able to erase those rays of sunshine that Lee had by nature in his smile. It was nothing new to the other three, but they confessed that at first it was hard to understand, there were days when the youngest of the four would not even get out of bed to take a bath, he would be apathetic, with automatic responses, and would not even pay attention when the others tried to cheer him up - Hajoon even cried once, But in time, the boys learned that at times like this, they should just leave Lee there, quiet and nestled in his blankets - of course, every once in a while they would peek in, ask if he wanted something to eat, or sneak into the room to leave a piece of candy for the other to pass the time.
With Dojoon's confirmation, Woosung ended the conversation. They didn't usually argue about it.
Around one o'clock in the afternoon, Dojoon was the first to sneak through the door of Jaehyeong's room, and without turning on the light, or making any inconvenient noise, he put his hands on the doorframe, calling out to the other in his meek voice.
"Jae-ah, do you want something to eat? I left lunch in the microwave for you." And although he knew the answer well, it wouldn't hurt to try to get him to eat at least a little. After all, he couldn't remember if Lee had eaten a proper dinner the night before.
"I'm not hungry, thanks hyung." The voice if Jaehyeong came out muffled by the mountain of blankets that hid him.
An automatic response, Dojoon had expected something like this, so he nodded to himself, since the other was unable to see him there.
"Right. We're here on the other side if you need us." Dojoon said and finally left, as quietly as he arrived.
Hajoon entered Jaehyeong's room around five in the afternoon. He didn't turn on the light either, and was thankful that he knew every inch of that apartment like the back of his hand as he crossed the entire dark room without tripping over anything and bothering the younger man. Unlike Dojoon, Lee didn't ask anything, just left a cup of warm tea and a bottle of water on the other's bedside table, making sure he at least drank some water. Jaehyeong was sleeping at that moment, so Hajoon allowed himself to adjust his blankets, just so that he wouldn't die suffocating in that little cave.
At eleven o'clock at night, Woosung finished his work and joined his other two friends on the couch. They had ordered food for four, but the only time Jaehyeong got out of bed, it was to crawl into the bathroom and then back into his bubble, and although no one commented or interfered, both three boys worried about their youngest. In silence, while pretending to watch a program on the TV, the three of them wondered what the reason was this time - if indeed there was one. Sometimes Jaehyeong was sad for no reason. None of them said it out loud, but it broke their hearts to see each other like that. Woosung said that Lee's eyes lost their life on those days, which according to Jaehyeong himself, made sense, after all, he felt like he was dying inside. On the other hand, everyone admired him, they were aware that going through days like this was not an easy task, and even after every storm, Jaehyeong appeared with a smile on his face, ready to face another day, even if he was still not really well.
"Has he eaten anything?" Woosung finally broke the silence, bending his body to stare at the other two beside him.
"No. I left food for him, but he didn't even come through the kitchen today." Dojoon sighed, also bending down to look at Woosung at the other end.
There was silence again, but this time it lasted much less time. Woosung slapped his thighs before getting up and going to the kitchen cabinet. The older man took out a few packages of cookies and potato chips and headed toward Jaehyeong's room, being followed by the curious looks of the other two who stayed on the couch for a few moments until they understood what the other was about to do.
Kim didn't turn on the light and didn't say anything either, he dropped the packages he had in hand on the bedside table where half a cup of cold tea was resting and lifted part of Jaehyeong's blankets, smiling briefly when he heard a grunt of surprise from the younger man.
"Move over a little bit." He asked softly and the other didn't even object before dragging his body to the middle of the mattress.
Woosung was unceremonious before he slipped under those warm blankets and snuggled against Jaehyeong's firm chest, enjoying a little bit of his warmth in silence. Hajoon and Dojoon entered the room soon after, they left four cans of beer on the cabinet underneath Lee's TV, before also invading the younger man's bed, making their way into that space comfortably, literally surrounding Jaehyeong with a warm, silent embrace, where they stayed for almost an hour, until finally, the younger man finally opened his mouth to speak.
"I didn't even shower today, how dare you guys hug me?"
"It's okay, nobody cares" Hajoon muttered and reached out to stroke the tangled strands of the younger man's hair. "We would hug you even if you were a week without a shower!"
"That's a lie, you guys would have shoved me under a shower by force." Jaehyeong protested softly and closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying all that affection, which warmed not only her body, but her heart as well.
"Probably, but it would be with love and affection." Dojoon concluded before resting his forehead on the shoulder of the youngest of the four.
There was silence once more. It was comfortable to stay like that, just listening to the sounds coming from outside, every now and then someone's hands would meet as they caressed the younger boy, generating low, almost silent giggles.
"I'm sorry for being like this," Jaehyeong said softly, almost inaudibly, and if it weren't for all that closeness, none of the three of them would have understood. 'I don't even know why, I just... feel depressed, have no desire to exist at all, and hate myself even more for worrying you guys. I just wanted to disappear."
"Shhh" Woosung muttered, tightening his embrace around Jaehyeong's thin body. "It's just a storm, it's okay. You don't have to apologize or justify anything to any of us, Ok?"
"Exactly," Hajoon continued, he had Dojoon away, but that didn't stop him from once again stroking Jaehyeong's hair. "We just want you to know that we love you."
"And that no matter how heavy this whole storm is, we will be in the rain together with you, always." Dojoon finally concluded, leaving a simple kiss on Lee's shoulder.
Jaehyeong didn't answer, he just nestled even closer between his friends. He knew that even with his storms, Woosung, Hajoon and Dojoon would be there when he was ready to shine again.