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Bum was slumped over the kitchen table toeing the line between sleep and consciousness. He could hear Sangwoo talking to someone on the phone, about some plans or something he really wasn't sure. "I'll probably be late because of the rain. I'll see you in a bit."
Bum was about to fall asleep when he heard Sangwoo walk into the kitchen, "Bum?" Bum was so comfortable in his thick sweater keeping him warm that he didn't want to answer. "Bum?" Sangwoo asked again, "Are you asleep?" Bum once again didn't say anything just cracked his eyes open hoping that he would leave him in peace so he could nap.
Once Sangwoo left he opened his eyes again to see if he had left, he was instead faced with Sangwoo crouching down and staring at him. "What the hell, you were just faking it?" Bum immediately jumped in alarm.
Sangwoo just laughed and patted his head, "Nah, Nah, go back to sleep, I shouldn't have said anything." Bum slowly lowered his head back onto his arms but kept his eyes on Sangwoo.
"I was wondering, can you go back into the basement while I'm gone? I'll be-" he cut off at Bum's face falling as he looked away from him. "Ah, are you angry?" Sangwoo was silent for a moment, "Alright take care of the house then. The basement is probably too damp." He kissed Bum's head before leaving.
Before he left though he whispered "And don't cross the line. Go to sleep, I'll be back around seven." with that he left the house, shutting the door behind him and locking it.
Bum was about to go back to sleep when he realized that he could leave. He stiffened, he could leave, get away from all of this. But the question was, where would he go? His ankles were broken, and people would be bound to ask why. How would he explain? I broke into Sangwoo's house?
Where would he go? To his old house? With no job? Sangwoo had been nicer lately, he didn't have to do chores, and he let him sleep next to him. He hadn't been in the basement in what felt like weeks. Would it really be better to leave now? Just to go back to where he had been before? Leave Sangwoo the only one who had loved him, or at least acted like it in his entire life?
In the end Bum was still half asleep, way too comfortable to get up, his ankles didn't even hurt at that moment, and he saw no reason for him to leave. He just buried his face back into the worn but thick sweater and went back to sleep.
Sangwoo checked his watch, it was six fifty-five and Bum still hadn't left the house yet. Maybe he wasn't going to leave after all. He took another drag from his cigarette as his favorite song blasted in his ears, his mother had played him this song often when he was a kid, telling him that it meant that God would make the final decision or some bullshit. In the end, he listened to the song so much that the words lost meaning to him, and he just listened to it so he could remember his mom as much as he didn't want to. He just wanted the song to give him some meaning instead of the meaning that it had given his mom.
Before he knew it, it was seven o clock and there wasn't so much of a pin drop inside of the house. He sighed and put out his cigarette before standing up and walking back into the house not knowing what to expect.
Bum was still slumped over the table sound asleep. "Huh." Sangwoo stood over him and leaned down to kiss the crown of his head again before leaving to shower and make dinner.
Bum woke up to the heavy footsteps of Sangwoo coming down the stairs. He sat up in his chair and stretched, 'Oh he's back then.' "Good morning," Sangwoo said as he walked into the kitchen while Bum rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Bum nodded at him before looking at the clock, he started to move to make dinner. Sangwoo put his hand on his shoulder and pushed him back into his chair. "Don't get up, there are still leftovers from yesterday."
Bum nodded at that, and brought his legs up to hug his knees carefully positioning his skirt so he wasn't flashing the underside of the table. Sangwoo got all of the leftovers out and set them on the stove to warm up before sitting down across from Bum. He propped his head up on the palms of his hands and just looked at Bum with a smile on his face.
He was just so happy that Bum had stayed when he had so obviously given him a window to leave. He was the first person that had so voluntarily stayed with him. Even his own mother didn't want to be saddled with the responsibility of a child. It just made him so happy that he couldn't help staring and smiling.
Bum smiled shyly back before he went back to looking at the table. That was when Snagwoo stopped seeing Bum as a version of his mother and himself as a version of his father, Bum had stayed, his mother hadn't, and Bum had been nice to him and hadn't tried to kill him whereas his mother had.
Sangwoo knew that he would keep Bum by his side if it was the last thing he did and he was proud of it.
Bum was staring behind him with a sort of frightened look on his face, “Um… Sangwoo, the leftover is boiling over.” he turned around and cursed rushing to the stove and taking the pots off of the burners.
Bum had a frightened look on his face now but it was for a different reason, Sangwoo had decided a long time ago, if Bum wasn’t going to leave him then he wasn’t going to hurt Bum. It was as simple as that.
He walked back over to the table and ruffled Bum’s hair before returning and getting the bowls of food and setting them in front of the other. “Eat up. You’ve been really tired today.” Bum nodded and started eating in silence.
They sat together in silence until they finished and Sangwoo put the dishes in the sink and ushered Bum into the side room. He handed him a pair of silk pajamas before going upstairs to change himself.
When he came clomping back downstairs he saw Bum sitting up on the mattress and already falling asleep. “Go to sleep why don’t you if you’re tired.” He muttered sliding under the blankets himself.
Bum instantly snuggled up to him, tucking his head under Sangwoo’s chin and hiding his face in his chest. Sangwoo wrapped his arms around Bum’s back and tugged him closer.
He inhaled the faint smell of his own shampoo on Bum’s hair and fell asleep listening to the sound of his partner's breathing.
The next morning Sangwoo woke up but the mattress was cold and he heard the clanging of chains in the basement. Tears began to well in his eyes, if only Bum had stayed, he could have been happy, but now, Bum wanted to leave him.
And now he wasn’t.