Its noon after lunch when the group of young friends preparing to go back to their sanctuaries in Seoul. They came with two cars; one is Dongwoo’s sedan and the other is Woohyun’s suv. When they came the other day, Sunggyu drive Dongwoo’s car, with Woohyun and Dongwoo himself as passengers, while Sungyeol drive Woohyun’s suv with Myungsoo, Sungjong and Howon. So if they’re going back to Seoul, they should follow the same pattern as they came. Right?

Apparently it’s not the case to Lee Howon. He had said he wants to ride in Dongwoo’s car for a change because he had ride in Woohyun’s the other day, and his home is closer with Sunggyu’s, so Sungyeol doesn’t has to take a long road to send him home. Everyone is fine with his suggestion and Woohyun was cool too, at first.

“This is the last one,” Howon says as he put his bag in the hood.

Dongwoo look around in the hood before he turns to Woohyun. The younger is with Sunggyu by the door to the house, making sure it closed properly and locking them. Satisfied, the couple then walk to the cars.

“Where’s your bag, Woohyun?” Dongwoo asks.

“In my car. Sungyeol can take them to the house or just leave them in. I don’t mind either way.”

Dongwoo nods. He lifts up his hand to pulls the hood close but before he do, the sound of a door close startled him. Dongwoo shut the hood and from the back of the car, he can see Howon had jump in the passenger’s seat beside the driver. Bewildered, Dongwoo turns to Woohyun. The younger stands still on his spot between the two cars, paralyzed. Sunggyu is talking with Sungyeol in front of the cars, both didn’t see the action. Myungsoo and Sungjoong are at the back of the suv, perplexed.

“He wants to change cars so he can sit at the passenger’s seat? Rude,” Myungsoo whispers, turns around, shut the hood of the suv close and went to the passenger’s seat.

Sungjong walk to Woohyun’s side. He slid his hand and grab Woohyun’s hand in his fingers. Woohyun turns to face him just in time Sunggyu and Sungyeol finished talking and paddled to the two.

“Why are you at the front, Howon?” Sunggyu asks but Howon keep still, as if he didn’t hear him with the closed door and window.

“I think Woohyun hyung should ride with us,” Sungjong says, catching the other’s attention.

“Huh? Why?” Sunggyu asks the youngest.

“So you don’t have to send Woohyun hyung home. I’m sure you’re tired. You can save yourself a detour.”

Sunggyu keep his mouth shut, considering the suggestion over. Sungyeol look at Woohyun then Sungjong then Sunggyu then Howon then to the opposite site of the car where Myungsoo is waiting. Myungsoo just move his lips upward, too stunned to response.

Woohyun who was still looking at Sungjong then turns his face to Sunggyu. He smiles plainly. “Yeah, hyung. I will just ride in my car,”

“Are you sure?” Sunggyu tilted his head. “I don’t mind sending you home. Or you can sleepover at my house.”

Woohyun shakes his head. “It’s okay, hyung.” He steps closer to Sunggyu, still with his hand in Sungjong’s grab. He throws his free arm around Sunggyu’s shoulder. “Drive safely, hyung. I will see you later.”

Sunggyu wrap both his arms around Woohyun’s smaller form. “I will. See you later, Woohyun.” He plants a short kiss on Woohyun’s temple before letting go.

“Bye, hyung-dul,” Sungjong says to Sunggyu then to Dongwoo.

Sungjong pulls Woohyun to the door, ushering him in and close the door. Then he runs to the other side and get into the car. Sungyeol says goodbye to the elders as he too get in the driver seat as Myungsoo do the same. Sunggyu and Dongwoo just watch the suv reversed from the parking and out to the road.

Sunggyu sighs before glancing at his housemate. “You drive.”

Dongwoo shrugged as he runs to the driver seat. Sunggyu get in the back seat and make himself comfortable.

“Huh? Are you driving, Dongwoo hyung?” Howon asks, surprise.

“Yeah. It was originally my plan to drive. So the couple can get comfy at the back,” Dongwoo lies smoothly. “But since Woohyun changes car, Sunggyu hyung was left alone.”

Sunggyu was too tired to make a remark so he just let them slide. He lean his head on the headrest and shut his eyes. Since he was also at the back, he failed to see Howon’s grunts. But he forgot Dongwoo had a pair of sharp eyes and caught his visible frustration.

-----------

The trip to Seoul takes two hours if the road is clear and to reach their apartment are another half an hour. If the suv take a detour to Sungjong’s university dorm, it will be another forty minutes. So the whole drive will take more than three hours, enough time to take a nap in the car. And Woohyun use the chance perfectly.

Woohyun had his head on Sungjong’s lap as the younger brush his fingers in Woohyun’s hair and the other hand patting Woohyun’s arm, as if to lull him to a dreamless sleep. Sungyeol would glance from the rear view mirror from time to time. And every time he did, he would heave out a sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Myungsoo asks as he lost count on how many times the driver does that.

Sungyeol shakes his head. “Nothing.”

Myungsoo look at the back. “Oh, Woohyun hyung’s sleeping?”

Sungjong hum as a reply, a clear sign that no talk should fall and let the car filled in quietness for the whole journey. Myungsoo stare at the two, uncomfortable feeling seeps in his heart. This is not the first time Myungsoo saw how close Woohyun and Sungjong are. Woohyun is a single child, so he is really clingy to whoever he feels comfortable with. Woohyun used to be clingy with Myungsoo since they were little, and still are till this day. Woohyun likes to play and tease Sungjong since Sungyeol introduced them. Because Sungjong was like the little brother he never has. If Myungsoo’s memory didn’t fail him, he remembers how Sungjong dislike Woohyun’s antics because he claims the older was annoying. There were a couple of times Sungjong push Woohyun away and scowl when Woohyun visited the Lee house to play. But their relationship slowly turns better and Sungjong open up to him. They become close. Even closer than Woohyun and him. And that makes Myungsoo jealous, like he had lost his dear childhood friend. It was more visible when the four of them are together and Woohyun would runs to Sungjong first to seek comfort to. And Sungjong…he treats Woohyun more than as little brother. If outsiders didn’t know any better, they would say Woohyun is dating Sungjong and not Sunggyu.

Myungso sighs as he straightens his body in his seat.

“And now you’re sighing,” Sungyeol says jokingly. “What’s wrong?”

“I hope everything okay between Woohyun hyung and Sunggyu hyung,”

“Huh? Why? Is something not okay between them?”

“Don’t know. I hope it’s not. It’s just…I’m wondering why Woohyun hyung didn’t ride with Sunggyu hyung? Knowing Woohyun hyung, he would just get into that car and asks Sunggyu hyung to sit with him at the back.”

Silence.

“It’s true,” Sungyeol agrees after a couple seconds. “But I guess he was tired and he doesn’t want Sunggyu hyung to waste his time and energy by sending him home?” The taller shrugged. “Either way, I really hope nothing’s wrong with them,”

“I hope so…”

“So…Sungjong,” Sungyeol calls and glance at the rear view mirror. “Do you want to go back to the dorm or going home with us?”

“Home.” Sungjong says. And then he added as a whisper, only for his ears. “I can’t leave Woohyun hyung like this.”

They reached the apartment shortly before sun set. And Woohyun sleeps all the way ride home. He just woke up once to drink some water then he falls back on Sungjong’s lap to continue his nap. Myungsoo had offered to change seat with Sungjong, since the youngest wouldn’t feel his leg if Woohyun sleeps on him still, but Sungjong declined.

When they’d arrived, Sungjong didn’t shake Woohyun to wake up. But he gathers the older in his arm and carries him on his back, from the parking up to their door. He punches in the passcode to their apartment and went straight to Woohyun’s bedroom. He make sure to strip Woohyun from his clothes and leave the older just in his brief, making sure the older is in his most comfort before he walk out of the room, just in time Sungyeol and Myungsoo walk in with their belongings.

“Yah, Lee Sungjong. How dare you just leave without helping,” Sungyeol says furiously.

Sungjong grins. “I help carry Woohyun hyung.”

Sungyeol groans as he put the bags on the floor in the living room. Myungsoo put the bags near the couch then he falls down on the said couch.

“How Woohyun hyung?”

“Sleeping,”

“Still?” Sungyeol asks. “Is he okay? He is not sick, is he?”

Sungjong shakes his head. “He is fine. Just tired I guess.”

Myungsoo sighs. “So…delivery?”

“I don’t think I dare to ask Woohyun to cook. Just let him rest then. What do you want to eat?”

They settle for delivery, the easiest and fastest; jajangmyun and chicken. It’s not night yet but they’re hungry from the journey and they want to have dinner early so they can go to sleep. While waiting for their order, Myungsoo had excuse himself to his room, to check on the photos he took. Sungyeol and Sungjong left on the couch, watching idly on the television screen.

“Hyung…” Sungjong calls.

“Hum?”

“Do you think it’s right for us to go to the vacation, hyung?”

“Huh? It’s too late to ask, don’t you think? We already went and came back from it.”

Silence. The only noise could be heard is from the television showing nothing the brothers interested in.

“Why so sudden?” Sungyeol asks.

“Nothing.” Sungjong lowered his head, contemplating whether to tell his brother or not.

Sungyeol thinks nothing of it and reach for the remote to change the channel.

“It’s just…on the first night there, when Woohyun hyung sleep in my room,” Sungjong started. He thought of keeping it as a secret but at the same time he feels uneasy if he didn’t tell Sungyeol about it. He has been thinking about that night since, and he was worried if something definitely wrong with Woohyun or it will affect his health. Sungyeol at least can watch over Woohyun in his steed, not like he didn’t do that already.

Sungyeol stops on a channel and lowered the volume, waiting for his little brother to continue.

“Woohyun hyung said he had a nightmare, but I doubt it was, but I don’t know why.” Sungjong lift up his head to look Sungyeol in the eyes.

Sungyeol gulp his saliva. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like this at all. He didn’t know where Sungjong is going but he had a bad feeling about this.

“Woohyun hyung…” Sungjong lowered his head, trying to calm himself. Then he lifts his face again. “Woohyun hyung was crying, hyung.”

Sungyeol widen his eyes. “He cried?”

Sungjong nods slowly. “He cried and he said he have a nightmare. But I doubt…I doubt he cried because he was scared.”

Sungyeol feels his heart beat against his chest. He had mixed feeling and he thought of many things. But he didn’t know what to say. Sungjong still look at him in the eyes, but Sungyeol unable to open his mouth. They stay like that, staring and waiting until the rings of the doorbell break their staring contest.

Sungjong is the first to turns away. Without saying anything, he stands up to answer the door. Sungyeol jump from the couch to calls on Myungsoo.

“The food is here,” he says as soon as he opens the door.

No answer. Myungsoo is too engrossed in whatever he is watching over the screen of his laptop. Strange. Myungsoo would never turn down a meal, no matter what he is doing. Frowning, Sungyeol walk inside the room and went to Myungsoo’s side. He peeks to the screen.

“Something wrong with the photo?” Sungyeol asks, tapping Myungsoo’s shoulder, making the younger jump in surprise.

“Oh, hyung. Do you need anything?”

“The food is here.” Sungyeol points to the screen with his chin. “Something wrong with the photo?”

“Ah…it’s…what do you think about this photo, hyung?”

Sungyeol lowered his body to make a clear view of the screen as Myungsoo move sideways to give room. The photo on the screen is the photo when the group was at the lake. They just reached the bank and getting out of the boat. Sungjong and Dongwoo are already at the bank, Dongwoo is helping Sungyeol to get out of the boat, while Howon and Sunggyu still in the boat. They look happy, they are laughing, they are joking around. And at the corner of the photo, Woohyun stand still all by himself, watching them.

“What’s wrong with this photo?”

“Woohyun hyung…he looks lonely and sad,” Myungsoo says lowly.

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I'm starting to go to work tomorrow despite the lockdown still in order. So I'm updating today instead of tomorrow.