Work Text:
The days with Sungho had always felt comforting. Woonhak stood in the kitchen, carefully cooking Sungho’s favorite meal—spaghetti verde with grilled meat on the side. Today was their first anniversary. He still remembered the day Sungho accepted his confession. It had been the happiest day of his life, a memory that stayed warm in his chest no matter how much time passed.
He arranged the dishes on the table and decorated everything as if they were dining in an expensive restaurant. A smile spread across his lips. He could already imagine Sungho’s reaction. Maybe he would smile that soft smile of his. Maybe he would pull Woonhak into a hug, kiss his cheek, laugh, and call him cute. Just thinking about it made Woonhak happier.
Then the front door opened. Sungho was home. Woonhak turned immediately, smile bright, arms already opening. “Welcome home, hyung.” He expected warmth. Instead, Sungho only stared at him with a blank expression. Woonhak’s smile faltered. “Hyung?” he asked softly. “Is something wrong?”
He stepped closer and tried to reach for Sungho’s hand, but Sungho slapped it away. The sudden force made Woonhak freeze.
He forced himself to smile again. “For our anniversary…” he said quietly, gesturing toward the dining table. “I cooked your favorite food, hyung. I made everything myself.” He grabbed the spoon beside the plate with a proud grin, but Sungho’s face stayed cold. “Hyung—”
“Shut up.” The spoon slipped from Woonhak’s hand and clattered against the floor. Sungho stepped closer to him, eyes sharp on Woonhak. “You’re so noisy.” Woonhak stared at him, too stunned by the sudden change in Sungho. “You’re annoying,” Sungho continued, voice colder than Woonhak had ever heard before. “When are you going to grow up? I’m tired of this. Being with you feels like babysitting.”
Every word hit harder than the last. Woonhak’s hands trembled trying to reach for Sungho again. Sungho shoved him back. “Stop touching me, idiot.” The word made Woonhak’s chest tighten painfully. He had never heard Sungho say anything like that.
“Let’s break up.” The world around Woonhak stopped. “I can’t be with you anymore.”
His vision blurred, and he already felt the tears coming. “H-hyung…” his voice cracked. “Why…? Did I do something wrong?”
“Yes.” Sungho didn’t hesitate. “You did.” Woonhak stopped breathing. “I already found someone better,” Sungho said flatly, treating Woonhak's feelings as just a game. “Someone older, someone who can actually give me a future.” He looked Woonhak up and down with disgust. “With you? I don’t think I’ll ever have that.”
Woonhak felt tears spill down his face before he could stop them. “Hyung…” his voice shaking. “You… cheated on me?”
Sungho nodded without guilt. “Yes.” His expression didn’t change. “I wanted to tell you a long time ago, but you were too clingy. I pitied you.”
Woonhak grabbed Sungho’s collar with trembling hands and pulled him closer. “All this time…” his breath hitched. “Everything we had… did it really mean nothing to you?”
For one second, Sungho lifted his hand and touched Woonhak’s cheek. A gentle touch, the kind Woonhak loved. Then Sungho smiled, not the smile that Woonhak knew. “Yes.” He peeled Woonhak’s hands away. “I packed my things while you were out.” He walked into their room and came back with a suitcase.
Woonhak panicked. He dropped to his knees and grabbed Sungho’s leg. “Hyung, please…” His voice broke completely through the house. “Please don’t leave me.” Tears fell more on his cheeks. “I promise I’ll work harder. I’ll find a better job. I’ll do anything, please. I’ll be less clingy, less annoying, I swear—”
“Let go.” Sungho kicked his hand away. Woonhak fell sideways onto the floor. Sungho stared down at him with cold eyes. “My decision won’t change.” Then he turned his back. At the doorway, he spoke one final time; there was something hidden in his voice, though Woonhak didn’t catch it. “Goodbye, Kim Woonhak.” And then he left, the door shutting behind him.
Woonhak stayed frozen on the floor for a long time, staring at the empty doorway. His mind refused to understand. A few minutes ago, he had been smiling in the kitchen. Now everything felt dark.
He slowly stood, his legs barely holding him up. His eyes landed on the dining table. The candles were still burning, and the food was still warm and untouched. He sat down. His hands shook as he picked up the spoon. He took one bite of his own cooking. It tasted exactly the way Sungho liked it, and for the first time, he ate the anniversary dinner alone. Tears rolled down his cheeks and dropped onto the plate.
No, he couldn’t be sad now. All he had to do right now was keep Sungho from going too far. Sungho must not go too far yet. He still had time to change everything back to normal.
He stood from the dining table, walked to the living room, reached for the keys to his motorbike, and ran out of the house. When he reached the front of the house, he caught a glimpse of Sungho getting into someone’s car.
“Sungho hyung!!”
His voice didn’t reach him as the car had already driven away. He ran to the garage, grabbed his bike, rode out to the road, and followed after the car. He caught sight of it and tried to reach it.
He sped up desperately, trying to catch up to Sungho hyung, but suddenly the car turned sideways, leaving Woonhak unable to stop because he was going too fast. His bike lost control just as another car came down the same lane. Woonhak couldn’t do anything. He shut his eyes as the car crashed into his bike, sending his body flying off the road.
He couldn’t feel the pain in his body even though he was covered in blood. The only thing he could feel was the pain in his heart.
People quickly gathered around him, calling for an ambulance. A nurse rushed to his side and tried to keep him awake. “Sir, can you hear me?”
Woonhak, with hazy eyes, stared blankly at the sky. “Sungho hyung…” The nurse caught the name but couldn’t ask anything further because Woonhak had already closed his eyes, a single tear falling down his cheek.
It had been one week since the accident, and Woonhak still had not woken up. Taesan and Leehan kept waiting for him to wake up. The two sat on the bench outside Woonhak’s room. It had almost messed up their schedules, but they couldn’t sit still or get a wink of sleep knowing the younger was still in a coma.
Then a shadow walked toward them. They looked at the person, and they almost wanted to curse. Sungho walked to them with a heavy expression.
Taesan stood up, his eyes burning with hatred. “You are not supposed to be here.” He tried so hard to keep his voice low, not wanting to disturb the other patients and Woonhak. “You don’t ever deserve to see Woonhak after everything you did!”
He failed to keep calm and punched Sungho in the face, making Sungho slam against the wall. “Does it hurt? Good. But that’s nothing compared to what you did to my friend!” he burst out in the hallway.
Leehan quickly pulled Taesan away and apologized to the people around them. “Taesan, calm down! Doing something like this will never make Woonhak happy!” Taesan’s eyes watered as he tried to keep his composure. He pulled himself away from Leehan’s hold and stared at Sungho.
“How dare you still show your face here?” His voice turned emotional. “Do you even know how much Woonhak loves you? How hard he prepared your anniversary surprise, only for it to turn into dust on the table…” His voice cracked. Leehan stopped him before the scene disturbed anyone else.
“Taesan, enough. Let’s just sit.” Then Leehan looked at Sungho, his eyes dark with disgust. “And you…stay away from Woonhak. This is not a question. It’s a warning.”
With heavy steps, Sungho left them alone, his wish to meet Woonhak disappearing.
Sungho walked to the one place where he could clear his mind. He went to the flower garden behind the hospital. Looking around, he saw many patients enjoying the scenery with nurses beside them. A soft smile appeared on Sungho’s lips at the sight before he sat on an empty bench with a sigh.
The sting on his face from Taesan’s punch still lingered, but he didn’t blame him. He deserved it. He deserved worse than a punch. He knew he was the reason all of this happened in the first place.
Ever since he received the news that Woonhak had gotten into the accident, the same day he broke up with him, Sungho hadn’t been able to sleep. Guilt stayed trapped inside him every second. All he wanted was to apologize to Woonhak, even though he knew the younger would probably never accept it.
He tried to act nonchalant, but he couldn’t stop the tears gathering in his eyes as every memory with Woonhak played in his mind like a film.
He remembers when Woonhak confessed to him. To Sungho, Woonhak is cute and tries his hardest to get his heart—and somehow, the younger man succeeds. Every single moment with Woonhak is precious to Sungho.
The way Woonhak treats him like a gentleman, never raises his voice, smiles a lot, always sends encouragement whenever he needs it, expresses his love in every language he can—kisses, hugs, dates, piggybacks, and laughs. Even in bed, Woonhak is never rough with him, always asking in a low voice if he is okay or if he is hurt anywhere.
Most importantly, Woonhak never makes Sungho’s eyes let out even a single tear, but he is the one who made their relationship crash.
His head is lowered, tears falling into his lap, his shoulders shaking as he can’t stop crying.