“Why don’t you just ask him out already?” Hakyeon smiled slightly as he noticed Taekwoon glancing at Wonsik.

“What?” Taekwoon startled, looking over at Hakyeon with wide eyes.

“Ask Wonsik out,” Hakyeon laughed, “I know you want to.”

“But you like him, too,” Taekwoon argued, “We agreed to not go for someone the other liked.”

“Not unless that person we both liked clearly had feelings for one of us,” Hakyeon challenged, “and I really think that Wonsik likes you.”

“No he doesn’t,” Taekwoon scowled, “and I know what you’re doing, Hakyeon.”

“Just ask him out,” Hakyeon snapped, “I don’t like him like that anymore, so there shouldn’t be any problem.”

“Oh really?” Taekwoon scowled, “then who do you like now?”

At that moment, someone entered the common room and Hakyeon glanced over to see who it was. Taekwoon misread the act.

“You like Sanghyuk?” Taekwoon asked and Hakyeon couldn’t help but nod. He didn’t, but if it got Taekwoon to ask Wonsik out and be happy……

--

“Hey,” Sanghyuk said, passing Hakyeon a beer as he took a seat on the couch beside Hakyeon, “want one?”

“I don’t drink,” Hakyeon replied, eyeing the alcohol carefully.

“You sure?” Sanghyuk asked, “Because that’s normally. Normally isn’t your best friend taking the guy you like out on a date.”

“How do you know that?” Hakyeon glared at Sanghyuk, not at all happy with Sanghyuk knowing his feelings.

“I watch,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “and I notice things. Plus, my gut is never wrong and it says that those looks you and Taekwoon keep throwing Wonsik mean you like him. But don’t worry, I’m not gonna tell anyone about it.”

“Oh,” Hakyeon blinked.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Sanghyuk said after taking a drink of his own beer, “Taekwoon’s probably not going to get anywhere.”

“Why do you say that?” Hakyeon scowled.

“I know Wonsik,” Sanghyuk replied, “We’ve known each other since childhood, we dated for two years after I turned nineteen. His confession was kind of like a birthday gift. Point is, I know his issues and, to be honest, I think I’m to blame for some of them.”

“What?” Hakyeon growled.

“Not in the way you’re thinking,” Sanghyuk rolled his eyes, “I didn’t mess him around or something like that. The issues…….well, they stem from when we broke up. What lead to us breaking up more accurately.”

“Why did you break up?” Hakyeon asked.

“Couple of reasons,” Sanghyuk replied, eyes getting that vacant look one got when thinking deeply about something, “one being that I never should have accepted Wonsik’s confession in the first place.”

“Why do you say that?” Hakyeon wondered if he should press the issue. It wasn’t like he and Sanghyuk were all that close either. He just…..he wanted to know.

“Wonsik has a habit of getting so caught up in his work that everything else is ignored,” Sanghyuk explained, “I’m sure you’ve noticed it. He gets so into a project that he’ll skip meals and sleep. Well, it’s even worse when you’re dating him. I thought I could deal with coming in second to his work, but…..turns out I couldn’t.”

“But how does that create new issues?”

“I’m getting to that,” Sanghyuk smiled slightly, but it didn’t meet his eyes and seemed pretty bitter, “that was one nail in the coffin. The other was what happened to me.”

“What do you mean?” Hakyeon wondered, trying to think back to Sanghyuk’s file. It had been ages since he read it, let alone skimmed it. But if he remembered right, Wonsik’s name had been mentioned in the description of how Sanghyuk’s time distortion abilities were created.

“He was so focused on his work that he completely ignored me and my well-being,” Sanghyuk sighed, “at least that’s how he describes it. Wonsik’s convinced that if he’d just taken a moment to think about something other than he work, what happened to me wouldn’t have happened. He blames himself and as a result of that……as a result of trying to fix things……he just got more buried in his work. I….I can’t say he gets that idea from nothing. That day….we were supposed to be having dinner. Our two year anniversary dinner. Instead……he cancelled and, well, here we are.”

“And you ended things after that,” Hakyeon nodded in understanding.

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk sighed, “sometime between Wonsik driving himself mad trying to fix me and turning himself into the gorilla shape-shifter he is now so I wasn’t the only abnormal around…..I finally grew the balls to end it. I thought it would help, but…….I don’t think it has. I think a part of Wonsik is still convinced that if he can just fix me……then thing will be right again.”

“You’ve been broken up for…….,” Hakyeon tried to recall when the files said Sanghyuk got his powers.

“Three years,” Sanghyuk was quick to supply.

“Right, three years,” Hakyeon nodded, “and you think he still believes you can get back together?”

“It doesn’t take much prodding to get him to admit that he only joined because I did,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “at least according to Hongbin. And I know for a fact he’s still working on a way to make me normal again.”

“Oh,” Hakyeon frowned, “and what do you feel?”

“I feel like I’ve moved on,” Sanghyuk replied, “and that Wonsik should too. But he’s never been good with letting go of the past so……..I wish Taekwoon, and you, the best, but…..”

“But maybe we should move on,” Hakyeon sighed.

A/N: this one sounded so much better in my head, but I still like it.