Thursday was their movie night, their tradition since the first time Eric, Minwoo, Dongwan and Hyesung decided to lived together—long before Junjin and Andy joined with them. 

Dongwan sat between Andy and Junjin, the maknaes basically teamed up with each other to guarded Dongwan so he didn’t run away—already glued themselves since Dongwan back to their flat, trailed behind him like baby duck. Afraid that their hyung would broke the promise—again.

“Yak, I won’t go anywhere.”

“Nah it’s your fault tho,” Hyesung chimmed in, “you missed the movie night last week.”

Andy nodded. “Hyesung hyung’s right. You said you wouldn’t miss it, but you did.”

“Hei, I already apologized tho?” Dongwan smiled to Andy, hugged him for a while. “Something urgent happened. I couldn’t refuse it.”

“Not because Minwoo hyung, hm?”

Junjin said it casually. But everything was stopped. Andy let out a small gasped, while Dongwan stared at Junjin questionaly—his eyes became bigger, trying to read what’s on Junjin’s mind. Hyesung too, was eyeing Junjin—maybe it just his gut, but lately everytime Junjin and Minwoo be in one room, the atmosphere was kinda heavy. Eric who just come out from kitchen with two bowls of popcorn—also stopped on his track.

Minwoo who busied himself with his phone before, lifted his head and raised his eyes at Junjin.

“What do you mean?”

“I was asking Dongwan hyung.” Junjin grabbed Dongwan’s hand and intertwined their fingers. “But, don’t you think you’re being unfair hyung?” and then looking at Minwoo, intensely.

“What?”

“To Dongwan hyung—“

“Jin!”

“—you left him.” As if Dongwan didn’t interupt him, Junjin continuing his sentence. “And then act like everything was okay, while Dongwan hyung were not. You didn’t give him a chance. You left him at the dark. It’s unfair, right? Or, am I wrong?”

Junjin provoked him, Minwoo knew. Been days since their last talk at studio, and their relationship just getting worse. 

“Jin, enough.” Dongwan tugged Junjin’s hand. “It was my fault, okay? I—“

“Stop, hyung. Stop blaming yourself.”

Junjin looking straight at Dongwan’s eyes, and silenced him. The gaze full of seriousness but also protecting, and somehow they felt as if filled with secret—but Dongwan couldn’t read it, couldn’t dechipered the meaning behind those eyes.

From Junjin’s behind, Hyesung saw the bewildered look on Dongwan’s face, and to be freakin honest, he was as bewildered as Dongwan, or maybe everyone were, except Junjin and Minwoo. And Dongwan showed his pleading eyes, asking for help—to stop this unexpected situation.

“Yak, what’s wrong with both of you?” Hyesung break the ice, grab the remote. “Let’s just watch the movi—“

“I need to smoke, just watch it without me.”

Minwoo stood up, and left. As fast as he can. Fled from their living room, leaving the sound of the crashing door—that shocked the rest of them.

Without no one realized—even himself, Dongwan also stood up and already on his track to run after Minwoo, but someone grabbed his shoulder and made him stop.

“You stay here,” It’s Eric, “I’ll knock some sense to him, and Junjin was right. Stop blaming yourself too much.”

.

.

“Syung..”

“Hm?”

“You’re right,” Dongwan chugged down his beer, “something must had happened.”

“To Minwoo?”

Dongwan nods his head. “And, Junjin know it. Eric too.”

The way Eric looking at him before he run after Minwoo, were identical with Junjin’s. And if Dongwan being honest with himself, those stares already shown to him since days ago—he thought they just pitied him, like everyone else—but what happened tonight, made him realize, both of them had different gaze towards him.

“Ask them then.” 

Dongwan said nothing, he drank his beer once again—leaned his head on the wall behind them. Hyesung dragged him out to the veranda, because Dongwan just felt numb. Hyesung also scold Junjin a bit, and asked him to reflect himself. It supposed to be a calm night not like this. They still need to live under one roof, for God’s sake.

“If they hide something from you, you deserve the truth, Wan.”

Hyesung circled his hand to Dongwan’s body, pulled him closer, made him to lean on his shoulder. Provided comfort to his best friend.

“What—what if the truth hurt me more?” Dongwan whispering his answer, his wound still wet and raw—it scares him.

“You used to say, white lie was still a lie, right? Where’s the upright Dongwan that brave enough to confront anyone and anything, huh?”

Dongwan chuckled a bit. He hold Hyesung’s hand, desperate to seek the warmth from it—but still, his heart felt cold. It hurts.

“You really love Minwoo, huh?”

Hyesung felt Dongwan nods on his shoulder. 

“He love you too.”

“I know.” Dongwan murmured his answer, “those hotpack you give to me, and the meds from Andy last week, it’s from him. I knew it.”

Dongwan’s breathe tickled Hyesung’s neck, but he torelate it. “He was not so subtle, huh?”

“He’s the one who remember the brand that I use and those herbal drinks—he was the only one who knew it.”

“Well, at least we know, he’s still care.”

“And that’s what made this hurt me more, Syung.” Dongwan lifted his head, “He’s being cold towards me, confusing me a lot. I just want him to be happy, trully happy. But he was not. Junjin’s right, he acts like everything was okay.”

“Wan..”

“Actually, I plan to move out from here.”

“What?”

“We need to heal, Syung. And I know, we can’t do that if we still live together like this.” 

Hyesung was quiet for a while, the revelation kinda shock him a little. Deep down, he knew they’d living apart oneday—and with their graduation around the corner, it’d be sooner—but not this sooner and suddenly like this.

“I’ll move to my aunt’s home, and when my internship start, I’ll live at the dorm they provide.” 

“What Eric’s says?”

“You’re the first person I tell.” Dongwan replied quietly.

“He will forbid you.”

Hyesung chuckled. This flat was gift for Eric from his parents, but he didn’t want to live alone, so he literally begged the three of them to accompanied him. And Dongwan was the one who refused it, didn’t want to stay for free—so Eric let him pay. And without they realized, they already lived together for six years.

“I know.” Dongwan agreed with Hyesung. “But I need it. And Minwoo too. Look what happened because we broke up, it’s unfair to all of you.”

Hyesung wanted to retaliate what Dongwan said, but he can’t because it’s true. Since the broke up happened, everything were different, they tried so hard not to meddle—but it was also hard. And what Junjin did to Minwoo tonight, it just a tip of an iceberg.

.

.

Fifteen minutes since Eric found Minwoo, sitting alone in front of the minimarket on the corner of their street—but they said nothing to each other.

“He knew.” Minwoo decided to open his mouth. “Junjin found out about my scholarship, and I told him everything.”

Eric already guessed it, to be honest, because no way Junjin would attacked his hyung like that out of the blue.

“He said, he’d be on Dongwan side, and asked me to stop being coward,” Minwoo chuckled bitterly and smoked his cig. “That kid, really turned into protective younger brother.”

“If we need to take side, you know which side I’ll choose,” Eric replied seriously, “but eventhough I choose your side, I do agree with Junjin. You’re being unfair, Min.”

Without everyone say it on his face, he knew deep down—everyone was right. He choose a hard route, a risk one. Living the rest of his life without Dongwan wouldn’t be easy. These past weeks, felt like nightmare for him—he did everything to ignore Dongwan’s existence, but at the end, he failed.

Junjin was right, he hurts himself to hurting Dongwan.

“If I told him, and he asked me to stay—I’d just broke him more, Ric.” Minwoo blinked away his tears, he didn’t even realize the wetness on his eyes before. “But if—he asked to go with me, then I’ll broke his dream. I can’t.”

“Stop made decisions for him, Min.” Eric rubbed his temple. “Let him decide for himself. Because let’s be honest here, the day he understand everything when you’re already away, don’t you think, it’ll hurt him more? And—I don’t think I can defend you if he really hate you.”

“That’s my plan tho, make him hate me.”

“Don’t you see it, Min?! He was suffering, and you too! Rather than hate you, he just blaming himself more.” Eric was getting fiery. “Quit this game, Lee Minwoo. Stop hurting youself and Dongwan.”

Eric was deadly serious, and Minwoo knew—his best friend get frustated with him. And it frustate him more. 

Rather than made Dongwan hurt less, what he did was the opposite. And on the process, his own heart also bleed so much.

.

.

“Hyung, I’m sorry.”

Dongwan closed his eyes—not that he mad at Junjin, he just exhausted. With himself. With the situation. With everything.

“I just—you’re hurt, and I don’t like it.” 

“Come here, Jin..” Dongwan pat the empty spot beside him, and felt his bed dipped when Junjin sat himself. “Minwoo is a good person, and your hyung, Jin. Whatever happened between me and him, it’ll hurt me more if your relationship with him also broke like mine.”

Junjin hugged his hyung, and Dongwan hide his face on Junjin’s sweater—smelled the fabric softener that always remind him of home, of his mom. Lately, he really wanted back to his hometown, really missed his mom so much.

“I know hyung—it just, I dislike the fact that Minwoo hyung seems okay while you were not. You derserve more than his silent.”

“Jin..”

“Hmm..”

“Do—do you know something?”

Junjin wanted to said yes. Wanted to reveal everything to his hyung—that the days he has with Minwoo were numbered, that Minwoo will leave for years. Junjin was on dilemma these days—trying to figure out what’s the wisest way he need to choose.

And as wrong as it sounds, it was Minwoo’s decision, and Junjin still respect it eventhough he really wished Minwoo would change his mind and tell Dongwan the truth.

“I know nothing hyung, that’s why I asked him to give you chance to talk and stop being unfair.”

Dongwan sighed, and tighten his hug. Junjin was lying, he knew it.

.

.

TBC

My works getting busier lately, so I don't really have time to updating, and tbh I never imagine this story will be on this sad path like this hft xx

Wish you all well, see you on next update :)