---

Taeyong was confused as to why Jaehyun was no longer responding to his messages. He saw him online just a few minutes ago, and when he checked it again, he still does, and he even tweeted some lovely admiration quotes.

But he hasn't responded to his message from 4 hours ago.

Did he forget? Or is he sleeping?

But he never forgot to respond to him.

Maybe he's just really busy. Right?

Despite his concern, Taeyong chose to ignore it, turn off his light, and go to bed.

When Taeyong exited his unit, Jaehyun was no longer in his unit. He went to the university already, but Jaehyun has not informed him of this. Yes, Jaehyun owes him no explanation, and he isn't even required to do so because he is free to do whatever he wants. Taeyong isn't a toxic best friend, he's just used to seeing Jaehyun first thing in the morning, and what's happening today isn't what he's anticipating.

Even though Jaehyun was prepared to go earlier than Taeyong, he is still waiting for him inside his unit or cooking him breakfast while waiting, and Taeyong obviously did the same.

But now, even a single message will be enough. But Jaehyun didn't send him one, nor did he ring the doorbell.

Did he really forget? Is something bothering him?

He must be really stressed, right?

Something has changed, but Taeyong still refuses to accept that. He keeps insisting that maybe Jaehyun is just really busy. They are in their third year already and even Taeyong himself is busy.

---

It's been a week, and Jaehyun is still acting weirdly. He doesn't text Taeyong that much anymore and he no longer goes to university with him, but the thing is, Jaehyun told him not to wait any longer, but he didn't tell Taeyong what's the exact reason why Jaehyun is acting like this.

He just wishes that if Jaehyun is going through a rough patch right now, he would call Taeyong and talk about it and he's willing to listen. After all, they were best friends.

It was break time, and the three of them were sharing snacks. They were exhausted from the lack of sleep, especially Taeyong, and Jaehyun, by the way, is still ignoring him. Jungwoo, on the other hand, does not appear to be stressed; instead, he is blooming.

He keeps giggling while looking at his phone, which appears to be texting someone. He'd been acting strangely for two weeks, and these two were starting to notice.

"Did you and Lucas rekindle your romance?" Ten can't help but wonder as he casts a curious glance at the taller.

Jungwoo shook as he stopped giggling and returned his gaze to his friends, who were looking at him seriously.

"No, we aren't." He denied it, but from the look on his face, he appears to be very happy.

"Oh? But why are you so happy, as if you're dating? You don't have to lie, you know. That's Lucas, right ?"

"I swear this isn't Lucas." Jungwoo made a promise sign and resumed texting.

"Okay. If you insist." Ten shrugged.

Meanwhile, Taeyong sighed deeply and yanked his phone out harshly to see if Jaehyun had responded, but he was once again disappointed. That's why he threw his phone at the table and the ice americano with rage in his heart while also being worried.

"Still got no reply?" Ten asked Taeyong and the latter nodded.

Jungwoo paused his texting and turned to face Taeyong, who was looking directly at his phone.

"I have no idea what the is going on with him. I don't even know where he is, and whether he's having trouble or not, he's not telling me anything, and I hate that I'm still worried about that dimwit. I was waiting in front of his unit to speak with him at times, but the lady said he would be late. I don't know if I did something wrong to him to ignore me like this, damn it. I don't know." Taeyong expressed his frustration and, judging by the tone of his voice, he is on the verge of crying. He's stressed because of all of their activities, and he still has a lot on his plate, and he's frustrated by Jaehyun's behavior.

He ing miss that stupid and he wants to see him.

When he's telling Jaehyun that he's not okay, he'll go to Taeyong as soon as possible. Jaehyun would cook for him or take him out to unwind.

But now, there's none. So Taeyong doesn't have a choice but to cry in his room alone. He's so frustrated these days.

Jungwoo cleared his throat, averted his gaze, and continued texting on his phone again.

Ten was consoling Taeyong when his phone began to ring, so he quickly took it and almost cried when he saw the name of the man he'd been waiting to call and text him.

"Jaehyun! Gosh you finally called! What's happening to you and where are you these days? Are you ignoring me? Are you okay? Do you have a problem? Did I do something wrong?" Taeyong inquired repeatedly, but he was absolutely delighted that Jaehyun had called.

Ten shakes his head as he looks at his friend, who was about to curse the entire world earlier because of Jaehyun, but is now soft. "Wow. Look at this fool."