They checked Dongwoo into the hospital. At first, Dongwoo was convinced it was just a sprain, nothing big. So when they left to the hospital, everyone was trying not to make a big deal out of it. But you couldn’t really stop yourself from worrying about Dongwoo. 

After waiting for a little while- who knew so many people had accidents in the middle of the day-, a doctor came out to see them. It was a little crowded in the examination room, with 3 fully- grown men, especially with one who couldn’t seem to stay still even with what was probably a sprained wrist. 

The X- Ray didn’t come out so good. The female doctor blushed as she tried to explain the scan, Woohyun didn’t know when to stop flirting. Howon couldn’t stop rolling his eyes as Woohyun spurted more greasy pick- up lines and Dongwoo only kept fiddling with the light box the X- Ray was placed on. Howon could see that Dongwoo had suffered from more than a sprain, from where he was seated, it looked more like a fracture. But of course, he wouldn’t know for sure until Woohyun stopped flirting with the doctor.

Sure, the doctor was pretty and Howon wouldn’t have minded trying to get her number too but the object of his affections was already in the room, and he had to say, completely unbiasedly, that he was a lot more beautiful than the doctor in front of him.

“Woohyun, control your hormones, lets just get to the point here.” 

Dongwoo chuckled from where he stood by the lightbox and Howon fought to keep the stoic expression on his face.

“Don’t be jealous, Howon.” 

Woohyun took the seat next to Howon and grinned at the doctor. Dongwoo walked back to his friends, standing by Howon’s chair. 

The doctor quickly started to explain the X- Ray, her blush quickly diminishing. 

It turned out that Howon was right. It was a fracture. Because Dongwoo had been resting slightly on his hand when he was pushed down by Sunggyu, the pressure Sunggyu applied was just right to cause a pretty painful radial tilt. Although the doctor had said something about it being common in people who try to break their falls, nobody was really paying attention. Howon because he was just thinking about how Sunggyu definitely had the intent to hurt Dongwoo if he had ended up with a fracture like this. Dongwoo wasn’t listening because it was as if he had suddenly noticed the X- Ray of his wrist on the lightbox.

It was a fracture line along the tip of his wrist bone but luckily didn’t touch his wrist joint. It wouldn’t have been possible to have the bone broken apart from just a step on the wrist but it was still pretty gross to think about. Dongwoo was kind of mesmerised by his X- Ray, because the fracture was so clear on the X- Ray. This was definitely a lot more serious than an almost slap. 

As Dongwoo sat with Woohyun- who still couldn’t keep his mouth shut, even though the nurse treating them was a man- Howon excused himself to go to the restroom. Watching Dongwoo’s whole forearm and hand get wrapped up in cotton bandages before applying the cast had gotten Howon’s blood boiling. Not that it wasn’t already boiling earlier. 

Woohyun continued to blather his head off, chatting up all the nurses- male and female- and distracting Dongwoo. Because, as Woohyun had suspected, Howon was off somewhere making calls to their lawyer, Sungjong. Sungjong was an old friend of Woohyun, the two of them having a close sibling relationship since their parents became friends outside their primary school. Dongwoo wouldn’t do anything about this, just call it an accident and sit there hoping Sunggyu would sign the divorce papers while trying to keep his cast dry. Dongwoo wouldn’t have wanted them to do anything about it. 

Sungjong’s PA picked up the phone on the third ring, and connected him to Sungjong’s private phone a minute later. Howon stood around the corner from the room where Dongwoo was getting his cast applied. He trusted Woohyun to have chosen fiberglass casting instead of a plaster cast. It would be a lot easier for Dongwoo to get a Fiberglass cast because it was lighter and waterproof and you could have different colours- colours were a pretty important factor. Howon tried to imagine what colours Dongwoo would single out but before he could really think about it, Sungjong’s voice cut through.

Dongwoo didn’t like the idea of having to wear a cast, even if it was green in colour and pretty light. Before Dongwoo could think about what type of cast to wear when the nurse had asked, Woohyun had jumped in to suggest Fiberglass. So Dongwoo let the nurse do what he needed as he listened to Woohyun try to chat up the nurse. The female doctor from earlier wouldn’t like that. 

This meant that Dongwoo would have to suspend his classes for a while and although he thought about letting Howon take over some of them, especially for the more advanced students, he decided against it. Howon thought differently from him and sometimes he came across as cold, or fierce. Not to mention sometimes his native Busan accent slipped through, which had its perks but it also had its cons. His students wouldn't be comfortable with it, especially after being taught by Dongwoo for so long. He had to admit he was pretty nice and warm, almost the complete opposite of Howon. 

He lazed around his apartment for the first two weeks, and Howon visited Dongwoo everyday. It was a nice gesture, he always brought food and new movies and stupid stories from their friends. Dongwoo hadn’t gotten a single call from Sungjong or Sunggyu, which meant that Sunggyu hadn’t signed the papers and that they would have to arrange a meeting soon. Howon was simply completely against the two of them being in the same room. 

“Dongwoo, I’ll really hit him this time. You two can’t be in the same room! He’s a nut job!”

But it wasn’t as if he could just avoid Sunggyu forever. Sure, their confrontation the other day didn’t go so well- “Didn’t go so well? You fractured your wrist!”, Howon interrupted Dongwoo a lot when he spoke to Sungjong- but Dongwoo was determined to set things straight between him and Sunggyu.

He didn’t really understand why Sunggyu got so jealous over him and Howon, though. Dongwoo loved Howon, but the feelings were totally platonic. Of course, Howon agreed and totally didn’t understand Sunggyu’s concerns, totally.  

Dongwoo’s mother visited him once too, on the second week, without her husband. Howon had opened the door and she had exclaimed: 

“My, my Dongwoo moves fast!”

It took too many hours to clear up that misunderstanding. 

Howon was attractive, he wore fitting shirts a lot, which suited his built body, and he was too kind to Dongwoo. Dongwoo’s mother honestly thought that maybe it was Dongwoo who had cheated on Sunggyu, which was why he was asking for the divorce.

“But you said Sunggyu and I were perfect for each other! Would perfect couples cheat on each other?”

She had shrugged but then smiled slyly. 

“Even if you didn’t, you never know if Sunggyu was the one to cheat on you.”

This had, of course, sparked a whole wave of interest in Howon.

“That would explain a lot! Maybe he did cheat on you and felt so guilty he acted out.”

A pensive look overcame Howon’s features and Dongwoo knew that now that the seed had been planted it would stay there. He also seemed a little too excited about this suggestion. He just hoped Howon wouldn’t do anything stupid like confront Sunggyu about it the next time they saw him. Besides, Dongwoo didn’t think he was the type to cheat anyways. They were both loyal people, and Dongwoo had never once caught Sunggyu looking at other people. He believed wholeheartedly that Sunggyu would never cheat on him. 

It was the Sunday before their scheduled meeting with Sungjong and Sunggyu, to finally get him to sign the divorce papers. They were sure he would, because if they didn’t, they would just slap a domestic abuse lawsuit right on him. Dongwoo was hoping it wouldn’t get to that.

Howon had stayed over the whole weekend, only leaving Dongwoo’s side when he had to go teach a class. Most of the time, Dongwoo was asleep- he was good at taking advantage of things like these- and Howon would have to extract himself from Dongwoo’s grasp. He would groan and roll around for a bit but by the time Howon locked the apartment door from outside, Dongwoo would have curled into a pillow Howon would have into his grabby hands.

However, Dongwoo was always conscious of the possibility that he might be just a tad bit too dependent on Howon. Sometimes when they were out- Dongwoo’s one hand still in the cast- and they were in a particularly crowded area, Dongwoo’s hand always somehow reached out for Howon’s. When it was cold in the cinema, Dongwoo wouldn’t bother to throw on the jacket Howon had held onto for him, instead preferring to just lean further into Howon and his endless warmth. 

There were days Dongwoo was amazed that he’d only met Howon this year, sometimes he would stop as he was brushing his teeth and he would stare into his reflection. It was a little surreal to think about sometimes, that he was no longer really married, that his ring finger was no longer hugged by a golden band. It was also very weird to think that he hadn’t known Howon his whole life. 

At 9 o’ clock that Monday, Dongwoo and Howon arrived exactly on time outside Sungjong’s office. 

“My favourite hyungs!”

Dongwoo was all nervous smiles and stiff necks, while Howon jumped ahead and shook Sunjong’s outstretched hand, even clapping his back a few times. 

“You’re just excited to meet Sunggyu, and to kick his , aren’t you?”

“Howon!”

Sungjong giggled a little before he gestured for the older two to take a seat. 

“Either way, Howon hyung’s right. I want to know what kind of person this Sunggyu is. I also want to be able to penalise him somehow for hurting you like that,” Sungjong eyed Dongwoo’s cast, “whoever he is, he must be a right bastard.” 

They were in a small- isn conference room, with glass walls all around and a view of Seoul from the panoramic glass window. The table was long and made of a light wood, and the chairs were standard issue black padded swivel chairs. 

Dongwoo and Howon took the seats next to Sungjong, patiently waiting for Sunggyu and his lawyer to get here. 

It didn’t take such a long time, in between which Howon shared to Sungjong all the things he would like to do to Sunggyu if the law couldn’t touch him. Sungjong nodded all the way, occasionally checking his Blackberry and also reminding Howon that something was either too impractical or just plain stupid. Dongwoo listened calmly, Howon wouldn’t carry out any of those plans as long as Sunggyu didn’t do anything to provoke him.

When Sunggyu arrived, he brought along a smartly dressed middle aged man who must’ve been his lawyer. He was definitely older than Sungjong, but Sungjong wasn’t fazed in the slightest. In fact, Sungjong simply smirked slightly as they entered and smiled brightly as he shook both Sunggyu and his lawyer’s hand.

Sunggyu didn’t look at Dongwoo even once, simply keeping his eyes ahead but not looking at any of the three of them. His lawyer was the only one who spoke, agreeing or making slight changes to certain claims. Sunggyu let Dongwoo keep the apartment, and their shared account was split between the two of them. It was a very simple process and like Dongwoo had hoped, Sunggyu had just signed the papers quietly. 

Howon was boring holes into Sunggyu as he signed the papers, only easing up once he dropped the pen. Dongwoo was watching Sunggyu as he shook hands with Sungjong once again and then as he sidestepped away from the chair and rolled it back neatly under the table. Before Sunggyu left behind his lawyer, he turned and Dongwoo realised that he’d been staring at Sunggyu’s face the whole time.

He smiles slightly and nods before he leaves and the heavy glass door closes behind him.

“Well, aren’t you guys glad that’s over and done with?” 

Howon grunts and nods profusely in agreement as he helps Sungjong gather their copies of the divorce settlement. Dongwoo had watched Sunggyu leave, his eyes following the curves his body made as he walked, the reflections off the soft silk of his suit. He felt really, really sad, all of a sudden.

“Guys, I’m gonna head home first okay?”

Before either can reply, Dongwoo leaves the conference room and hurriedly pushes his way out of the law firm, barely flashing a smile at the receptionist. He rides the elevator down, tapping his foot impatiently. When he finally gets into a cab, Dongwoo tells the driver his address and leans back into the cracked seats. 

Once he stumbles into the apartment, Dongwoo tears up a little at the lingering smell of his scented candles and he only starts bawling once he gets to his bedroom. 

Of course, he had wanted all this to be over as soon as possible. Although he hadn’t been too aggressive over it, he had wanted Sunggyu to sign the divorce papers as much as Howon. So he really didn’t understand why, exactly, he was sitting at the edge of his side of the bed and sobbing until he felt like his lungs would collapse. It would be too easy to blame it on pent- up feelings of frustration or hurt, or even relief. 

Howon had decided not to visit Dongwoo that day after he left the office. After leaving Sungjong, he had gone back to his own apartment, the thought of checking up on Dongwoo lingering at the back of his mind as he made dinner. 

It’s the fourth week and Dongwoo goes for his last check- up at the hospital. He goes over without Howon this time, the loose cotton bandages under his cast. He was finally going to get rid of the cast, and finally able to resume teaching his students again. He had written out a long apology, a different one for each class. They’d missed so many lessons and he felt so horrible, even if he did instruct them to come to class even without him to just practice. 

The nurse is the same one who’d put on the cast in the first place, and he wishes Dongwoo a good day as he leaves. He turns back to smile but he can’t even find him anymore. Before Dongwoo leaves the hospital though, he takes a seat on one of the hard waiting room chairs. He had tried not to think about Sunggyu the whole two weeks since their divorce. There were a lot of knots he had to untie in his mind and he always chose to leave Sunggyu for last. He just didn’t want to scare anyone by suddenly bursting into tears, as he was currently afraid he would do. 

It’s pretty quiet because it’s the middle of the day and Dongwoo finally lifts his head from where he had been holding it in his hands for the past 10 minutes. He resumes classes tomorrow and he still hasn’t gotten all the class plans for tomorrow yet, but here he is. Still dwelling on Sunggyu. 

He isn’t even really doing any real thinking, all he’s doing is thinking about Sunggyu. He isn’t trying to figure out why he burst into tears after Sunggyu left. He’s just thinking about his ex- husband as a person, as the person he fell in love with and he just can't seem to grasp how quickly their marriage fell apart.