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“Minwoo hyung!” Andy rushed over to hug the older one as soon as he entered the dorm and saw his friend who ree week late. He did not notice Junjin's darken eyes on him.

“Andy-yah!” Minwoo laughed as he returned the hug, his eyes gloating at Eric. 

Junjin stood beside the two men, his heart stirring furiously, muddling up his emotions and pain. Just last week, he started talking to Andy. Just last week, they became friends. Just last week he thought one day he could re-perform what Eric hyung did. But......

Jin, don't you dare learn from them.

Of course I won't.

Junjin's heart constricted. 

Everything that happened last week was a mirage. He could not just replicate Eric hyung's path. He should have known, it would never be this easy.

And that was when Andy casually hung his arms around Minwoo's and Junjin's neck, turning over to face Dongwan hyung and his brother (who was protesting why Andy went to Minwoo and not him, despite his own fingers still entwined with Dongwan's ).

“Anyway up for a drink?” Andy asked.

The arm over Junjin's neck was like a mocking reminder to the burden of his own words to Minwoo. Without warning, Junjin violently shrugged Andy's hand off, as if the touch from the younger man burnt his skin.

…what had he done?

A palpable silence descended as every pair of eyes landed on Junjin. 

“Junjin –” Dongwan started. But Junjin interrupted.

“I'm going out.” Junjin took large rapid stride to the door and started running as soon as the door closed. He ran without having a destination. His mind was in turmoil when his legs finally allow him to slow down. 

What had he done? Why was he behaving in this manner? It was no one's fault for the pain he was feeling, especially not Andy's.

The last of what he saw on Andy's face triggered his guilt. 

Disbelief. Shock. Hurt.

These were all written on the face of the person he loved when he left so abruptly.

Back in the dorm, Andy's hurt was brewing into indignation as the door slammed close after Junjin. He would have been able to take it if Junjin had never changed; if he was dirt in Junjin's eyes all along. But no. He was finally able to make Junjin open up to him. They were finally friends last week...at least that was what Junjin's actions made him believed.

Minwoo broke the tension in the room and suggested for the remaining four friends to go out for a feast to celebrate his returning to the dorm. But the feast did nothing to alleviate Andy’s indignation.

The following day, Junjin waited for Andy at a section of the road back to the dorm so he could talk to Andy without the presence of anyone else.

“Andy!” he called when he saw the younger man walked pass. Andy turned, but gave an unfamiliar cold stare when he saw who it was. He turned back and continue walking.

“Andy! ” Junjin called desperately. He fastened his pace and held Andy's arm. “I'm sorry.”

Andy shut his eyes and inhaled deeply to calm his angry heart. “Jin...I'm not your toy.” His calm voice was resolute, as if he had reached a finality. He opened his eyes, looking straight ahead and not facing Junjin. “I'm not an object that you can play with when you like and throw me aside when you don't.”

Andy was tired. He was tired of trying, of waiting, of being a fool. He didn't want to keep ignoring someone under the same roof as him. He didn't want gatherings with both Junjin and him to be awkward for the rest of his dorm mates and his brother. But...

Andy lowered his gaze. “I can't fix this alone, and I am sick and tired of fixing this alone.”

Junjin felt his throat getting dry. He can't rebut to anything Andy said, or explain himself. Because he knew he was in the wrong and his actions did hurt Andy. His love was poison...

Andy finally looked at him in the eyes. “Let's...let's just be strangers from now on.”

And Junjin broke.