The hard part is watching the person you love...

He was wondering if he was dreaming when he woke up to loud thumping noises at his front door. He had pitifully fallen asleep on top of his papers, even had one sticking to his face as he got up. Now who was disturbing him at... 2:30 at night of all things? The screen of his phone lit up the place even brighter than his own lamp, whose lightbulb was just about ready to die and he hadn’t had the time to purchase a box of new ones. He stood up groggily and slid his way to the entrance of his home.

“What the hell do you– whoa!”

He quickly caught the body that had fallen towards him with a grunt. The scent of alcohol wafted to his nose, causing him to cringe from the potency. He looked at his shoulder where a tuft of hair was visible to the visible features of his neighbour. He sighed, in exhaustion or in exasperation he would figure out later.

“Yah, Kim Myung Soo. Wake up man,” he tried jostling the boy awake to no avail, only mumblings of a drunk person.

He dragged Myung Soo deeper into the officetel so that the door could close shut. He locked the door before proceeding to bring his friend to the couch, slinging the barely conscious male’s arms over his shoulders and holding onto his waist. There was more mumbling escaping the drunk male’s lips, though he couldn’t really make out what they were since the words were slurred beyond comprehension. Myung Soo then jolted from his shoulder, eyes wide, which made Soo Kyung stare at him with large eyes as well, hurriedly tugging him into the direction of the washroom. Myung Soo made a dive for the toilet, his mouth spewing out whatever had settled in his stomach. Soo Kyung sighed, this time it was definitely out of exhaustion, kneeling down and rubbing his friend’s back as the short haired male emptied out the contents of his stomach until he was done. The long haired male helped him rinse out his mouth at the sink.

“Are you okay enough for me to leave you for a few seconds while I get you something to drink?” Myung Soo nodded sluggishly. “Do you feel like you’re going to puke again?” A negative shake of the head. “Okay, sit tight. I’ll be back in a second.”

Though he drank with the older male on occasion, he had never actually seen him drink till he was ready to drop. He opened his fridge to take out a bottle of water. He also got a cup from the side to store a couple of ice cubes from the freezer. He brought it to the washroom where Myung Soo was still trying to get the vile taste out of his mouth, gurgling water several times in his mouth clumsily. Soo Kyung turned off the tap and took a face towel off the rack to help him wipe his face before putting it back. He took an ice cube out of the cup he was holding.

“Here, on the ice cube. It’ll probably do a better job on getting rid of the taste. Now open,” Soo Kyung nudged the ice cube at pink lips that opened enough for the ice to go through, tongue the tip of the fingers that held the frozen water, “Remember, and don’t chew. Let’s get you to the couch.”

Myung Soo leaned onto the taller figure, letting him lead him to the couch without question. The couch sunk slightly at their weight. Myung Soo stayed pressed against Soo Kyung’s shoulder, not wanting to move from his position, taking comfort in the way the long haired male was combing through his hair with long fingers. Soo Kyung never asked him about his problems, making it much easier for him to gather his thoughts without being disrupted as he started to feel much more sober.

“I know what you’re talking about now.”

Silence.

“I see.”

More silence.

“It hurts.”

The only thing that could really be heard was their breathing.

“I know.”

Myung Soo couldn’t see the bitter tilt of Soo Kyung’s lips.

And the lightbulb of his lamp burnt out.

... love someone else.

Chapter 10: drunken (heart).

A/N: There’s no way of rewriting the ice cube part without innuendo. None. It’s even worse than the piece of meat in the last chapter.