My laptop decided to kinda work for a few days so I typed out a few chapters. I thought I could use the opportunity :D who knows when my dear laptop will start bugging again...

Jinwook waited outside the room with Dongyeol while Wooseok was with Kogyeol. He felt awful. He didn’t get any sleep because his whole apartment reminded him of his boyfriend; his pillows smelled like him and he kept imagining the sound of Kogyeol’s laugh or him singing in the shower.

He didn’t notice that he was crying again until Dongyeol side-hugged him. “He’ll be fine...”, the youngest mumbled. Jinwook nodded and wiped away his tears. “I know...it’s just so...”, he trailed off. “I know...I can only imagine what it must be like for you”, Dongyeol answered.

Jinwook sniffled again. “How’s Hwanhee?” he asked. Dongyeol pulled back. “Not so good. He’s scared to come here. You know how mad Wooseok was yesterday. I think he’s scared that you’d be the same. Or worse...”, he admitted. Jinwook looked at him.

“I won’t yell at him or anything. I know he didn’t do it on purpose. Tell him to stop beating himself up over it”, he said. Wooseok stepped out of the room and cleared his throat. “Um...I want to drop by at Kogyeol’s mom’s place. She hasn’t returned my calls yet so I think she doesn’t even know that he’s here”, he explained.

“Dongyeol, do you want me to take you home?” he asked. The younger gave Jinwook a side look. “Go. I’m fine”, Jinwook assured him while attempting a smile. “I’ll be back later”, Wooseok told him. Dongyeol got up and followed Wooseok while Jinwook entered his boyfriend’s hospital room.

He sat down on the same chair as yesterday and he took Kogyeol’s hand again. “You must be tired of people telling you to wake up all the time, right?” he spoke up. “And if you were awake right now you’d probably scold me for looking like . I didn’t sleep a lot, you know. You’re everywhere in my apartment...”, he said.

He let out a sad chuckle. “Seriously, when did you start hanging out at my place all the time?” he asked. Of course, he remembered exactly when and how it had started.

-Flashback-

Loud knocks started Jinwook who had just finished getting ready for bed. It was almost midnight so he wasn’t sure if he should really open the door. It was raining pretty hard outside and who knew what kind of creep was on his doorstep.

“Jinwook? It’s me...”, a voice called through the door. Jinwook opened in a flash to find a completely soaked Kogyeol standing there. “What the...what happened to you?” the older questioned with worry laced in his voice.

Kogyeol held on to the door frame, seemingly out of breath. His dyed-red bangs were sticking to his forehead just like his clothes did to his body. On top of that he had a busted lip, a black eye and a purple bruise on his left cheek.

Jinwook stepped aside to let him in. “I just had some trouble at home and I needed to get out of there. I would’ve gone to Wooseok’s place but he’s out of town this weekend and...-“ “It’s okay. Sit down over there. I’ll get you a towel first”, Jinwook interrupted the other’s rambling.

He headed to the bathroom and searched for a clean towel. “I would’ve called but my phone is dead...”, he heard Kogyeol shout from next door. “It’s okay”, Jinwook repeated. He was glad that Kogyeol came here. They had only hung out together with the others a few times but neither of them could deny the certain kind of tension that lingered between them.

Apparently, Jinwook was important enough to Kogyeol for the younger to rely on him. He also appeared to have remembered his address from that one time he accompanied Wooseok while took Jinwook home.

Jinwook went back to where Kogyeol sat and handed him the towel. “You need to get out of your clothes before you catch a cold!” Jinwook said. Kogyeol grinned. “Are you trying to get me ?” he asked teasingly. The older felt himself blush and quickly turned away to search for clothes in his closet.

“N-no...I just...”, he trailed off. “I’m messing with you!” Kogyeol told him with a laugh. Jinwook decided not to answer as he found sweatpants and an oversized T-Shirt. He turned back around. “I think I’ve-“ He cut himself off at the sight of a shirtless Kogyeol standing right in front of him. “Found... something...” he ended his sentence, trying hard not to stare at that well-built torso.

“Thanks”, Kogyeol said with a smirk on his face. Jinwook blushed even harder when the younger put the dry shirt on, causing his muscles to flex at the movement. He was just about to drop his jeans when Jinwook spoke up again.

“I’ll go find a first-aid kit. We need to treat your bruises”, he said and stormed past him to the bathroom. “My face is fine. I’m used to this”, Kogyeol called after him but Jinwook ignored him. He just hoped that he meant he was used to it because of ice hockey and not because domestic violence was a regular thing at his place.

When he got back Kogyeol was fully dressed in dry clothes. “Sit down”, Jinwook instructed. Kogyeol obeyed and sat on Jinwook’s bed. The older got his desk chair and sat down across from him, opening the first-aid kid he’d put on his lap.

“So...do you want to talk about it?” Jinwook questioned while he dabbed Kogyeol’s busted lip. The younger didn’t meet his gaze as he answered: “It’s just my mom’s boyfriend. He and I don’t really get along. It was always like that with all of the previous ones too so I am pretty used to it”, he explained.

“He hit you?” Jinwook questioned. Kogyeol shrugged. “You should see his face”, he said and attempted a grin. He winced at the sting it caused due to his busted lip. He sighed. “I just told the guy to get up to get beer himself and that my mom isn’t his waitress. Didn’t take it well. My mom protected him and told me to cool down and stop acting disrespectful”, he clarified in a serious tone.

Jinwook pulled back. His mom wasn’t on his side? That was harsh. “Well, you can stay here for as long as you like. I’ll grab you some ice for your eye”, he told Kogyeol and set the first-aid kit down next to the bed. He got up, ready to search his freezer for any kind of ice pack but Kogyeol grabbed his wrist, holding him back.

“Can you just stay here with me?” he asked, looking up at Jinwook with big puppy eyes (even though one of them was swollen...). Jinwook smiled at him. “Alright. We should probably get some sleep anyway. We have practice tomorrow”, he said. Kogyeol let go of his wrist and stood up.

“I’ll just sleep on the-“ “Don’t be silly. The floor is cold as . Get in there”, Jinwook interrupted him, knowing what Kogyeol was going to suggest. Wooseok would kill him if there star player got a cold (and he might like the idea of sharing a bed with his crush).

They both got comfortable in Jinwook’s bed before the older killed the lights of the nightstand lamp. He felt Kogyeol’s arm wrap around his waist and his chest press up against his back. He was more than glad that Kogyeol couldn’t see his blush in the dark. “Jinwook?” the younger whispered. “Yeah?” “Thank you...”

-Flashback end-