Woohyun cried every night, but nobody knew that.

He cried because of his studies, because the pressure of the exams was too much to bear sometimes. He cried because of his parents’ high expectations, adding more pressure to the one that was already weighing on his shoulders with his exams. Not only this, but he knew his family wasn’t doing well and he didn’t need to live with them so sense it. He cried because life on the campus was far from being as fun and glamorous as movies made it seem and desperately lacked a good friend to talk to.

But above all, he cried because the one person he would always talk to about all his problems wasn’t there anymore, would never be there for him again. And that person was exactly the one he thought would always be there for him, would always love him and understand him. They had been friends for three years, then had become lovers for three more. His whole high school life had been about him – about them. He had been his first everything, and always thought he would be his last.

Apparently, he was wrong. He had heard distance made people fall apart and that high school couples often broke up when entering college. Woohyun had laughed it off, because that couldn’t happen to them. Now, when he thought back of those times, he didn’t laugh.

And Woohyun couldn’t help but feel like the most stupid human being on earth for that, for not noticing the other drifting away until one day… One day, when everything ended with a phone call. Three years of relationship, with a freaking phone call. The one he believed in the most had cheated on him, and he could say he was sorry all he wanted, but Woohyun still knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t.

He knew he should blame it on the other. Or maybe on that man he had cheated on him with. But all he could do, was blame himself. He wasn’t good looking enough, not smart enough, not funny, giving, generous enough. He simply wasn’t enough.

All he could do was cry every night, but nobody knew that.

That’s what Hoya learned one night, when he went to his roommate’s bedroom to ask him about the circuit breaker because there was a power cut, and found Woohyun crying his heart out, rolled up like a child on his mattress. Honestly, when he saw the other in that state, he had no clue what to do. They weren’t really the closest roommates ever, just exchanging a few words now and then, but he just couldn’t leave Woohyun like that. So he went over to the bed and hugged him until the boy’s tears dried and he told him his story.

After that, it seemed like Woohyun had found the good friend he needed. And after repeating it for hundreds of times, Hoya finally made the other realize that maybe it wasn’t his fault after all. He wasn’t sure how, but one day he woke up and no longer felt heartbroken at the images of him with his new boyfriend that he could see all over his Facebook page. He just felt angry and strangely liberated.

That day, he went up on the roof with Hoya and, after preparing everything, called him.

“Woohyun-ah… How are you?”

Hearing his voice after so long felt strange, but it hurt less than what Woohyun thought it would. He smiled. “Great, actually.” He paused and put his phone on speaker. “Do you hear that?” A hum. “Do you know what it is, Sunggyu-ah?”

“No…” The other’s voice was soft and hesitant, almost afraid because he could hear the anger in Woohyun’s voice and knew what the other was capable of while in that state.

“Your stuff. Burning.”

He heard a gasp, then hung up. Then, he watched with a smile on his lips while he watched all the things Sunggyu had left him burn in a barrel. He hoped Sunggyu could remember every single thing in that barrel. He hoped that for every precious object and memory going up in flames, he could feel his heart sink a bit. He hoped he realized that this, the flaming orange color of the flames, was a much better ending for their memories than oblivion and abandonment. When everything was gone, he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to his friend.

“Better?”

For the first time, Woohyun shot Hoya a real smile. “Way better.”

~ Piou0102 ~

Okay, so this was kind of based on a true story... The phoning-your-ex-while-burning-their-stuff part >< A friend of mine actually did that and I found it awesome (hum... I mean bad, very bad. Don't do that at home xD) and I just had to write a fic about that :p

I hope you liked it! :) As always, leave me some words and don't hesitate to leave a prompt! <3