~~~~~~Given his situation, Hongbin had never been the type to have an overwhelming amount of friends. He had other things on his mind, so it made talking and socializing with others seem pretty unnecessary.

Hongbin really didn’t care that much. He never felt an overwhelming amount of loneliness, so what did he need friends for? His grandmother on the other hand, was desperate for Hongbin to meet someone he could actually talk too.

“Sweetheart, will you go for just a little bit?”

“Why though? It’s alright if I just stay here. I don’t need too.”

“You don’t realize it since you’ve never had one, but once you do you will see how important friends are.”

“Do I really have to go? It’s just a stupid party for someone I don’t even talk too.”

“Please.” Hongbin sighed. He really didn’t see the big deal, but it was important to her. She had never done anything badly to Hongbin, so he supposed that he could do it for her.

“Fine. I’ll go for just an hour or two.”

“I’ll go get the car started. Make sure you’re ready to go, okay?” She spoke now with a wide smile on her face, her mood obviously excited.

“Will do.” Hongbin walked away, smiling as his grandmother grinned. She really was happy.

Walking into his room, he went through his usual routine. He had mostly everything done, so he just needed to pick a mask and make sure he had taken all of his medicine.

Moving towards his dresser, Hongbin opened the top drawer. Half of it was filled with very thick, expensive custom masks that would cover his mouth and nose. He figured since he had to wear them forever, he might as well choose some that had at least some sort of design on them. 

Picking through them, Hongbin picked one and put it on. He moved in front of the mirror, making sure he had done it correctly.

This specific one was black, made to look like the mask was being zipped across the front. It was interesting, and it fit well with Hongbin’s usual style.

Satisfied with what he had chosen, Hongbin moved to the cupboard.  It was him, so of course everything was sorted out and organized. He picked up today’s containers, putting out the things he needed. There were three colorful little pills in front of him, laid out just as nicely as the bottles were. He put it back exactly like it had been before, taking a glass of water and swallowing them.

“Are you ready Hongbin-ah?”

“Yes Grandma!” Hongbin grabbed his cellphone, rushing outside. There his grandmother was sat patiently in the car, Hongbin getting in and her already driving. He supposed she thought she should hurry before he changed his mind.

The car ride was mostly silent, other than the sound of the radio playing. It was the music Hongbin liked so he hummed along a little, but he wasn’t loud enough to be heard.

“Alright, we’re here. Call me when it’s over, okay?”

“Will do.” Hongbin stepped out the car, waving as he did so.

“It’s going to be better than you think. Talk to some people.”

“Okay. I love you grandma.”

“Love you too!” Hongbin waved, watching his grandmother drive away.

‘Here goes nothing!’~~~~~

It had now been around a month or so since Hongbin had met the others, and he was very glad to see that things were still just as good as they had been when the group first met.

As soon as they parted, the six had already opened a group chat with everyone. There they mainly talked about trivial things, and no conversations made even a tiny bit of sense. Still, they all laughed a lot and it was a lot of fun.

So far they had met together about once a week. They hadn’t done anything too stimulating as of yet, just sit around parks and talk with each other. Sanghyuk played and ran around with Jaehwan a lot, and Taekwoon was almost always around Hakyeon somewhere. Wonshik and Hongbin more observed them all and laughed.

Things had been fantastic, and they now knew almost everything about one another’s personality and current situation. Everything except for Sanghyuk’s house. He never talked about it much, but they could tell something was off. Around a week after they had first gone to the snack shop, the five of them opened a chat and tried to talk about it.

Hakyeon: Hongbin, why do we have a chat room without Sanghyuk?

Jaehwan: My running buddy! Hongbin invite him this instant >:(

Hongbin: He’s not here because I want to talk about his mom and brother.

Wonshik: Why do we need to talk about them?

Jaehwan: Is he okay?! My running buddy cannot be hurt why do we need to talk about his mom and brother I know he’s said a few things about them did they do something to him did he say something to you what do you know!!

Hakyeon: Jaehwan, take a deep breath.

Hongbin: You all know as much as me, but I’m worried. The way he talks about them…something’s wrong.

Wonshik: I agree with Hongbin here. Every time we mention his brother, he just says that his brother is mean and hates him.

Taekwoon: He said his mom is only nice sometimes

Hongbin: I know everything he’s said. I want to do something about it! I want to make sure that they aren’t hurting him in any way!

Hakyeon: I know you mean for the best, but there’s not much we can do. I still think Sanghyuk is too attached to his mother to ever leave her for good.

Taekwoon: He right

Hongbin: Typo Taekwoon

Taekwoon: He’s right

Wonshik: Sanghyuk likes you best, just ask him

Hongbin: I can’t ‘just ask him’, he doesn’t like to talk about it.

Wonshik: Then just watch out for him

Hakyeon: As much as we love him, there’s nothing we can do until Sanghyuk wants it as well