JUNGWOO

once ten starts shouting, jungwoo leaves. 

he doesn't even care about anyone who may be at home. he can't stand to see people pick fights over him. especially when they should be siding with yukhei, not him. after all, jungwoo's the one who messed up in the first place.

it hurts to see people--his friends--hurt.

who is he kidding?

it hurts to see yukhei hurt.

upon arriving home, he types out a text to yukhei, knowing full well that he won't get a response. he sends it anyways.

yukhei leaves him on read, and from there, he breaks. he can't help but let his phone fall to the floor as he covers his face in his hands, forcing out a ragged breath.

he doesn't realize that his brother is sitting right there on the couch, staring at him curiously.

"jungwoo," doyoung says quietly. jungwoo flinches at his name. "is everything all right?"

"yeah," jungwoo manages to squeak out. "everything's fine."

with that, he crosses the living room and shuffles towards his room, locking the door behind him so that doyoung can't talk to him.

falling onto his bed in a heap, jungwoo buries his face in his pillows. he's aware of tears gathering in the corners of his eyes, but he can't be bothered to wipe them away. he thought he'd gotten all of the crying out of his system earlier with ten, but apparently, he was wrong. he laughs a bit at that thought--he's not burnt out just yet.

three knocks sound softly in succession on jungwoo's bedroom door. "jungwoo?"

jungwoo doesn't answer. he knows doyoung can see right through him.

"let me in, please. i want to help."

well, jungwoo thinks, why not?

slowly, he rises, crossing his room and unlocking the door. doyoung immediately pushes it open, and, upon seeing jungwoo's face, lets his jaw drop.

"i..." his brother trails off.

doyoung's hand lifts halfway to wipe away jungwoo's tears, but it quickly falls to his side, and he moves forward, enveloping the younger in a hug.

"what happened?"

jungwoo sniffs into doyoung's shoulder. "do you remember yukhei?"

"of course. he's your best friend. why?"

"he's my soulmate," jungwoo says pitifully. "i've been in love with him for--for years, and he ran out today when he found out."

"you're--"

"gay? yeah, and i know that you had a fling with that lee taeyong boy from sm university, so don't even start."

"i wasn't going to."

"good."

doyoung falters for a moment, and it's just enough for jungwoo to realize how pitiful he must look like this, clinging onto his brother for dear life, head buried in the junction between doyoung's shoulder and his neck. "he's going to come back."

jungwoo lifts his head slowly and looks at doyoung through red-rimmed eyes. "i really don't think he will this time."

doyoung stares at him, thinking--analyzing. he's trying to figure jungwoo out, figure out what has changed since he'd left for college almost half a year ago. jungwoo almost laughs, because a lot has changed.

"you know," doyoung says softly, pushing inside jungwoo's room and taking a seat on his bed. jungwoo closes the door and sits beside him, opting not to look at his brother but instead the floor. "i hated my soulmate for a solid month before we got together."

jungwoo's head snaps up. "you found your soulmate?!"

"we were in all the same college classes. we competed to be at the top of the class, and one day, i saw his soulmark on his wrist when he was sitting next to me."

doyoung pulls up the sleeve of his hoodie to reveal his soulmark--sigag, the character for time--which seems to stand out even more now than ever against the pale skin of his wrist. it's darker, more defined.

"your mark--" jungwoo begins, but doyoung cuts him off.

"i asked him out for coffee. he showed up, and i showed him my mark. we've been together ever since."

jungwoo grins. "what's he like?"

"he's sweet and caring. he's so talented and creative and good at everything he does. i love him so much," doyoung effuses, and jungwoo's heart does backflips as he recognizes the look on his brother's face: pure, unfiltered adoration. "he makes my life infinitely better."

"what's his name?"

"lee taeyong."

smiling softly, jungwoo rests his head on doyoung's shoulder. "i'm really happy for you."

"my point is--" doyoung shrugs jungwoo's head off of his shoulder, "--not every soulmate couple starts off the best way. but all of them are matched together for a reason, jungwoo. taeyong is my other half. yukhei is yours."

after speaking, doyoung pulls jungwoo in for a hug.

"i know you, jungwoo. and i know you're not going to stop until you wear him down."

and maybe jungwoo smiles just a little. maybe he laughs softly into doyoung's chest.

maybe--just maybe--he feels a little bit better.

and maybe, that night, he falls asleep soundly, doyoung's words running through his head over and over again.

  ―

xodaniel