It takes two weeks for the rumors and whispers to die down. In the meantime Seungcheol doesn’t see even a strand of pink hair around, even if he hears people talking about him from time to time. The incident that happened with Minhyuk and Jangin spread like fire and it seemed to calm down anyone who would have thought that it would be funny to say anything to Jihoon. These days they call him ‘the Satan's spawn’. Seungcheol wonders if Jihoon would still laugh about it. Probably not, given the circumstances. 

Two days after the incident, once the pain started to disperse, not definitively, just temporary finding its place on the back of Seungcheol’s thoughts, he realized just what exactly Jihoon did that day. And even if he is sure that the short male words were meant to produce pain, they also saved him. If Jihoon would have ignored him that day Minhyuk and Jangin would have asked questions. This belief is strengthen by the fact that Jihoon didn’t really disclose any of his secrets. The words were sharp, yes, but just because someone he came to care about spoke them, just because when Jihoon let them out Seungcheol knew that he wasn’t referring only to his educational choices. No, he could see the anger of somebody who was left alone in Jihoon’s eyes. The smaller was telling him that he was a coward and Seungcheol knows how true that is. 

Still, he hasn’t seen or spoken to Jihoon in two weeks, so when he is stopped in the hallways by and angry looking Wonwoo and a hard punch meets his jaw he is more than taken aback.
“You bastard.” Wonwoo hisses, just enough for Seungcheol to hear. “I hope you are happy.” The older just stares in amazement, clenching his palm around his aching face. Wonwoo surely had a strong punch. His attacker throws him another enraged glare and turns to walk away. Just that Seungcheol is not the type to just stand there when he gets hit out of the blue like this. With three big steps he catches Wonwoo and grips his forearm strongly.

“Why should I be happy?” he asks, raising his chin a little to hold eye contact. Wonwoo’s eyes turn into slits as he watches him with disgust, but he says nothing as he sees the crowd that starts to gain around them. Seungcheol can sense his hesitation and drags him out of there, towards the staircase that’s never really used. 

“Take your hands off of me. I can walk by myself just fine.” Wonwoo argues and yanks his arm away, starting to climb the stairs toward the roof. Seungcheol follows him silently surprised that the younger actually wants to talk to him. They reach the rooftop in less that two minutes and Wonwoo makes his way to the edge, sitting down and letting his left leg dangle in the air trough the bars that keeps him from falling. Seungcheol decides to copy his actions. They sit in silence for a few moments and Seungcheol distracts himself while watching the walking students five levels below him. 

“Jihoon is in depression.” Wonwoo whispers and Seungcheol’s head shots toward him, his eyes wide and lips parted like he wants to say something but the words refuse to leave his mouth. Wonwoo ignores him, not sparing him a glance. 
“His parents found out. Seems like Maya was angry enough to tell his mother and everything went down from there.”

Seungcheol wants to say something, he really wants. He has a hundred questions swirling in his mind. But none makes his way on his tongue. A broken “I’m sorry” leaves him and Wonwoo finally turns to look at him, scowling.

“I’m not the one that should hear that.” He coldly replies and Seungcheol bends his head in shame. “Broken things can be fixed with apologies.” Seungcheol can’t stop himself from asking what exactly has been broken, but he doubts that he would like the answer to that.

“How is he?” he softly asks instead. Wonwoo turns to the view bellow once again. His next words cut so deep in Seungcheol’s soul that he thinks he may start to bleed.
“We took him to the hospital today. Seungkwan found him in the studio. He was laying there, passed out for God knows how long.”  Wonwoo ignores the small gasp that Seungcheol makes. “It seems like hasn’t slept in days, nor eaten. The doctors said that he’ll be fine if he rests and eats well. They also told us to keep him away from any stress.”

“Where is he now?” Seungcheol hears himself talk, but it doesn’t sound like him, so faint and broken. Wonwoo let’s out a dark chuckle.
“The idiot went back to his studio. Something about a song he needs to finish. We tried to stop him, but he said that his parents should arrive one of these days and he has to be home.”
“You left him go by himself?” the older asks, his tone more accusing than he meant. Wonwoo tenses and his voice turns just as defensive.
“Seungkwan went with him. I will stop by later.” 

A tense silence falls once again, Seungcheol regretting his words and Wonwoo letting him be eaten by his thoughts.

“How are you?” 
“What?” Seungcheol asks, surprised by the question. Wonwoo sighs.
“You look almost as bad as Jihoon.”
“I-I’m fine.” Seungcheol answers, still taken aback.  His answer draws another long sigh from the other. 
“You two are just the same, you know? Just be careful.” Wonwoo says as he gets up and makes his way to the stairs. 

“Jihoon tried so hard to protect you, don’t waste his efforts.”

Wonwoo's last words float in the air a long time after he leaves. They fly around Seungcheol’s nightmares in the following nights and haunt him in the daytime just a like a broken melody that keeps going on and on. Sometimes it is accompanied by the soft ‘You can go then’ Jihoon said that morning. Or the look of rage and disgust from the last time he saw him. It drives Seungcheol crazy and he sometimes finds himself wondering why it affects him so much. The answer seems to be so close, but for some reason he can’t reach it. He ends up sitting in the corner of his room, eyes staring at a wall for hours until exhaustion catches him and he falls in a slumber for a few fours just to wake up to the same dilemma. What should he do? He has no idea. What he knows is that he wants to see Jihoon. Only for a few seconds even, just to assure himself that he is fine. 

That’s how ends up in front of the library, their library. It’s Sunday, only 7 am. But he hopes to get there before Jihoon and maybe hide somehow. He is still a coward, but he just needs to see the pink haired boy. Just that the library in not yet open and he just sits there and waits for another fifteen minutes until he sees the librarian assistant approach. What was his name again? Seokmin? Seungcheol sees him rarely, maybe because the bright kid usually sleeps on his shift. When he doesn’t, he just walks around the library, putting books back in place, cleaning up or talking on the phone way too loud, always with a big smile on his face. To Seungcheol Seokmin looks like the happiest human he ever met. 

Maybe just not in this morning. As Seokmin sees him his smile drops low, his eyes suddenly darkening. It’s strange, seems like a new person, and Seungcheol looks at him surprised. Seokmin makes his way to the door and starts unlocking it.
“I don’t think you should come here anymore.” Seungcheol hears him talk, his voice cold as ice.
“What?” he asks, dumbfounded. Seokmin turns around to face him, his stare hard and face serious.
“Jihoon hyung doesn’t come here anymore and I know it’s your fault. You should leave.” The younger says merciless.
“He doesn’t come anymore?” he repeats Seokmin’s words. The other approves with his head.
“You know, hyung used to come here almost daily, it was the place where he used to work. But I haven’t seen him in weeks. I heard what happened from Seungkwan a few days ago.” He states, him voice flat as he makes his way inside.
“As I said, you shouldn’t come here any longer.” He closes the door after him, leaving Seungcheol in the cold, but the chills on his skin are not caused by the wind.

He does see Jihoon that day, but not how he expected. Three hours have pasted midnight and he can’t sleep, something he usually doesn’t occur, but it seems to be happening way too often in the last weeks. He is still in the sweatpants and t-shirt that he sleeps in, he didn’t want to wake his roommate up so he didn’t change. He leaves his room and thinks to just walk around the dorm since outside is too cold, January being pretty chilly this year. 

As he passes by the second floor, he catches a pink flash with the corner of his eye. He quickly turns his body around and yes, he saw right. There is Jihoon entering a room with a box in his arms. Seungcheol stares, mouth agape, as the short boy slightly closes the door with his foot. It takes him almost ten seconds to react and he immediately approaches the room. What is Jihoon doing in the dorms? Whose room is that? And it’s the middle of the night too. His thoughts run and clash into each other and he feels an unknown feeling constricting his stomach and making his blood rush into his veins. A horrible though passes his mind and he cringes. That can’t be right!? Jihoon wouldn’t do that! 

“Leave.” A quiet voice says from behind him and Seungcheol turns around and stumbles a few steps, his hand gripping the front of his shirt, feeling his heart beating like crazy. It’s the boy that was the last time with Jihoon, Seungkwan?, with a cardboard box in his hands, his face decorated with a frown. He lets out a relieved breath, the kid scarred the out of him.

 “What is Jihoon doing here?” he asks just as quietly. The frown on Seungkwan’s face deepens and he moves around Seungcheol, towards the room in which Jihoon entered.
“He moves in with me.” He answers. “His parents threw him out.” He enters and closes the door after him. Seungcheol hears him locking it and he’s left outside for the second time that day.

A.N:

Part three everyone! There are only one or two parts left. I would like the hear how you like it so far. What do you think it will happen? Please comment bellow.

Thank you to all my 27 subscribers!! You are all lovely And lastly thank you so much to everyone that commented. I adore you all 

Randomn Jihoon, since he didn't really appear in this chapther

See you in a few days!