The days dragged painfully by, and Jongin still had no clue what was happening between him and Taemin. Every time he returned from an evening shift to find the bed cold and empty he felt all the more disheartened, the sudden emptiness of his small apartment dragging him down. He tried to text Taemin every day, but he never got any response. It soon got to the point where it had been a week with no word from his boyfriend, and Jongin was feeling more lonely than ever. He had to find him, or get in contact with him somehow, but how could he? All he knew was that Taemin was with his brother, and he had no clue where Taemin's brother lived. Jongin settled on confiding in Sehun, hoping that perhaps Sehun could help him. 

Currently, Sehun was sprawled on Jongin's couch, mulling over everything Jongin had just told him. After what seemed like ages, he finally spoke. 

"Well, it seems to me that you've been acting like a and Taemin finally got fed up." 

"What?" Jongin couldn't hide his surprise. 

"Jongin," Sehun's brow furrowed as he eyed Jongin, voice serious. "Do you really think that how you treated him throughout your argument and then the mourning thing was okay? I can't blame him for being irritated." 

"But-"

"-I'm going to stop you right there. No excuses. I know you've been giving Taemin bull since day one. I don't know everything about your situation, and what you two have gone through together, but I do know that from the start, your relationship was unfair. He's been trying his best to stick with you through it all, but you're just... how do I put it; you're just you, Jongin. Ungrateful and bitter. Everything is always about you, and he has to try to accommodate to all of your needs. You barely even gave a thought to how he was actually feeling, did you? You're an , Jongin."

"That's not true, you don't understand..." 

Sehun shook his head, standing up.

"That's all you ever say, and I'm sick of it. Jongin, do you really think that nobody out there understands you, or gets your pain? Because I've got news for you; we've all lost someone. You just love being a drama queen and holding a pity party for yourself over it. It's time to grow up and let go. How can you expect to ever be happy if you don't let yourself? And I really think that Taemin is your chance for happiness. You definitely need him, and you're about to lose him, all because you're a whiny . I hope you're pleased with yourself." 

"What do you mean, 'about to lose him'? Who said anything about that?" 

"Jongin, you complete idiot, he hasn't come home in a week! He hasn't answered any of your calls, or texts, or anything! Do you really think that's not a sign that he's about to leave you?" 

"You're really..." Jongin shrugged defensively. "He's not going to leave me."

Sehun laughed, a harsh, bitter sound that shook Jongin to the core. 

"You're terrible. I hope he does leave you. I hope he leaves and you go crawling back to him only to get rejected. It's probably better for you both anyway." 

"What the is wrong with you?" Jongin had nothing left to do but lash out. He didn't want to listen to Sehun, didn't want to even think about the possibility that maybe his friend had a point, no matter how harsh his words may have been.

"I'm sick of it, Jongin. Taemin's not the only one who's been subjected to your ty treatment. There's a reason I'm your only friend, and I don't even know if I should call myself that anymore. I'm sorry, I'm gonna go now. You need to think some things over, or not, since you probably won't, and I'm done here. I can't help you." 

Sehun turned towards the door. 

"Sehun, no, wait..." 

But by the time Jongin managed to choke out the few pleading words, Sehun had already left, the door shutting gently behind him.

*****

Jongin had never been more lost. He functioned on autopilot for another week, hearing nothing of or from either Taemin or Sehun the entire time. The exit of two important people in his life was leaving a huge impact on him, and he knew he had to do something to fix the situation. But what? Neither one of them would understand him, he couldn't make them see how he felt. He refused to even think about what Sehun had said to him a week prior, however, feeling that nothing would be achieved from that. He already felt bad enough, he didn't want to feel even worse. 

During this week, he often found that in his free time, instead of going home and eating or sleeping or doing something else of probably at least minor importance, he'd wander the city streets, aimlessly making his way down familiar streets and new streets, sometimes getting lost, sometimes finding himself in front of buildings that seemed familiar, but he couldn't ever remember why. Of course, these walks left him very tired, and on occasion it also meant that he forgot to eat. Fatigue combined with famishment of course did absolutely nothing to help his mental state. So when Friday night finally rolled around, he found himself to be in a very bad place. 

He couldn't really remember how exactly he'd gotten to the bar, but he was there now, and as tempting as it was, he was still present enough to know not to get a drink. Something told him that if he did, one would lead to another which lead to another, and the cycle would go on. Instead, Jongin hid in a corner, hunched over at a table, trying to work out how he'd get home. 

When he happened to finally look up, he was greeted with a sight for sore eyes. Well, sort of. It was Taemin, yes, but he was sitting across the room, arm slung casually over the shoulders of the smaller man next to him. As Jongin watched, he squeezed the man's shoulders, smiling widely as he said something into the man's ear before taking a shot. 

In its heavily muddled state, Jongin's mind struggled to process the scene in front of him, only able to come to one conclusion.

Taemin was... cheating on him? No, that didn't sound right, it just didn't sound like something that Taemin would do. But that was the only possible explanation for this, wasn't it? 

Jongin heaved himself up from his seat, approaching the two men. Each step was hard to take, and his feet felt heavy. Halfway across the room and he stopped, instead turning towards the exit. He needed air, he needed to clear his head before he did this. He made it outside, leaning against the bar's brick wall in relief, glad to be out of the stuffy, crowded space. He was nowhere near ready to go back inside yet, but he figured he had at least a little time. 

A few feet away, the bar door opened. 

"Jongin?"

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N

Jongin's a lil and Sehun went OFF

Thanks so much for reading and subscribing! I'll be caught up with all these chapters soon, I swear. Thanks so much for sticking with me. <3 Also, in thanks to all of you, I have a surprise coming up soon! ;) I hope you'll enjoy it...

Thanks for reading!

-H