“Is everything alright, Kihyunnie?” Kihyun’s mother asks him gently. He looks up from his dinner, humming as he gives the woman a nod. He then returns to the food, picking up his utensils to begin eating. The older woman gives an unconvinced look to her husband, whose face only mirrors the expression, and she clears .

“How are you, dear?” she tries again. “Are you still seeing the school therapist about your depression, or have you decided to go on medication? I know you were thinking about that the last time we spoke.”

“I’m still seeing her,” Kihyun answers, though he doesn’t offer any details.

“And Hoseok is still helping you?” she presses on, determined to figure out the reason behind her son’s odd mood.

“Of course,” Kihyun replies. A small smile dances its way across his lips at the mention of Hoseok, and his mother can tell she’s struck a chord.

“How is Hoseok?” she says. “I haven’t seen him since you all left for school.”

“He’s fine,” Kihyun tells her. “He stayed behind at school, though, over break. It was too far to travel for him to go home, so he couldn’t go.”

“That’s awful,” his mother comments. “We should invite him here, then.”

“N-No!” Kihyun bursts out, dropping his own utensils in shock. His parents stare at him, surprised by his outburst. “I’m sure he’s made plans with Minhyuk-ah by now,” he adds in an effort to cover up his own overreaction. He quickly goes back to eating his food, stuffing his face and commenting on how good it is to try and change the subject. However, his mother is not having it.

“You and Hoseok sure spend a lot of time together,” she muses. Kihyun doesn’t bother acknowledging her comment, and merely stuffs his face more. “He’s also been extremely helpful to you through all this trouble with Hyunwoo and your depression.” She pauses, leaning forward to watch her son’s reaction as she asks, “Are you and Hoseok dating, Kihyunnie?”

Kihyun nearly chokes on his food at the accusation.

“Of course not,” he coughs out, beating on his chest to dislodge the clump of rice that’s gotten down his windpipe amidst his gasp. “You know I’m not dating anyone right now, not after what I did to Hyunwoo.”

“My dear,” his mother chuckles knowingly, “is that what you’re telling yourself?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t have to feel guilty about dating Hoseok, Kihyun-ah,” she tells him gently. “Hyunwoo’s moved on, and from what you’ve been telling me he’s happy with how this all has ended up. If you like Hoseok in such a way, you should ask him out.”

“I’ve got this depression thing to sort out before I date anyone again,” Kihyun says.

“Even your therapist thinks you’re doing fine enough to start a new relationship,” his mother argues, but pauses. She drops her gaze suddenly, knowing she’s slipped up. Kihyun narrows his eyes at her almost accusingly.

“Noona never said anything like that to me,” Kihyun murmurs. “Have you been talking to Hyolyn-noona behind my back?”

“I only wanted to check on your progress, Kihyun-ah,” she defends, her eyes snapping up to meet his once again. “It’s a mother’s job to pry, keep in mind.” Kihyun scoffs at this, shaking his head as he rubs at his eyes. “Please don’t be angry with me, dear. The conversation just sort of took a turn, and we started talking about how you should return to your old pastimes to regain a sense of normalcy in your life. That includes dating.”

“I’m not angry with you,” he tells her with a sigh. “I could never be angry with you, Eomma. I just want you to listen when I say that I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of commitment yet.” His mother sighs in defeat, at last relenting on the subject. He thanks her for understanding, and the family goes back to eating.

Kihyun lies down that evening, calling it an early night. He shakes his head at his mother’s interference, both loving her for and being annoyed by it. He glances over at his nightstand and picks up his phone, sighing at the lack of missed calls and texts.

No harm in calling him now, he thinks, and unlocks his phone to call the one person he’s been wanting to speak to all day since leaving his side.

Hoseok sits at his own desk, working on a song he’s been composing for a while now. He hopes to have it done before he graduates, so that he could possibly be taken officially into a company and have a proper job by the time he’s out of school. That’s the plan, anyway. Judging by how his projects are going right now, he’d be lucky if he gets a company job within the next ten years. Nothing he does to them sounds quite right, and he can’t tell what’s missing.

He’s so focused on his work that he nearly misses his phone ringing. He surprisedly glances down upon noticing it, picking up the call at the last second.

“Hello,” he murmurs distractedly into the phone.

“Are you actually getting work done during break?” Kihyun’s voice teasingly asks on the other end, causing Hoseok to nearly drop his phone in excitement.

“Kihyun-ah!” Hoseok greets. Kihyun chuckles at his elated tone, but Hoseok doesn’t mind. In fact, the sound of the younger’s smile brings a smile to his own face. “How was the drive? How’s your family doing?”

“Not too long,” Kihyun replies, “and my parents are fine, thanks for asking. How was your day?”

“Kind of long, actually,” Hoseok admits, pouting at his laptop screen. “I’ve been trying to work on one of my songs for the past few hours, but nothing sounds right.”

“Let me hear,” Kihyun requests. “Maybe I can help.” Hoseok hums in agreement, already pulling his phone away to put the call on speaker. He’s so used to asking the younger for help on his projects at this point, he can’t believe he hadn’t called earlier. Kihyun could always manage to unblock his creative flow. Hoseok plays the song, and listens dazedly to Kihyun humming along. He could never understand why Kihyun didn’t become a company trainee. The younger has such an amazing voice… it’s clearly meant for a better audience than a group of friends on karaoke night.

“Maybe if you change up the bridge a little,” Kihyun suggests, explaining the change he has in mind. Hoseok listens intently, already moving to follow the younger’s instructions. He does so and replays the song, this time liking it a whole lot more. He takes the call off speaker phone and presses the device back to his ear.

“That’s perfect, Kihyunnie,” Hoseok says gratefully.

“Have you even eaten yet?” Kihyun asks, suddenly worried. Hoseok pauses, glancing down at the clock. Kihyun sighs heavily, and Hoseok can almost hear him shaking his head. “You can’t even survive a whole day without me, hyung. What am I going to do with you?”

Then never leave me, Kihyunnie, Hoseok thinks as he stands, forcing out a chuckle.

“I just got caught up in work,” Hoseok defends jokingly. “I’ll be fine, I swear.”

“I’m just going to have to check up on you every day, won’t I?” Kihyun continues, and Hoseok can’t bring himself to deny the younger this. He loves too much the idea of Kihyun calling him every day throughout the break. The air between them grows thick as silence overtakes the conversation. Kihyun can hear the microwave starting up, and he in a breath through his teeth.

“Please tell me you’re not eating a ramyeon this late at night.”

“I’m warming up leftovers, Kihyunnie,” Hoseok answers with a genuine laugh. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to eat junk so late when you’re not around.”

“Good,” Kihyun comments.

The two hold back a simultaneous sigh, each at a loss for what to talk about but not wanting to hang up either.

“I miss you, Kihyun-ah,” Hoseok murmurs. He doesn’t even realize he’s spoken until after the words have left his lips. He blushes, immediately beginning to blubber to try and cover up his own words. Kihyun chuckles at hearing this, seeing all too clearly the panicked light in the older’s eyes.

“I miss you too, hyung,” he replies, his words having an instant calming effect on his friend. “It’s only a few weeks, and then I’ll be back.” Hoseok hums at this, smiling at the thought of seeing the younger again.