[ TW: this chapter hints at subjects similar to depression and death. Proceed with caution. ]

Yeonjun stared at the stall door in front of him, completely spaced out.

It was around 12:00 noon, and the boy had managed to push through his first classes of the day.
By the end of the first period with Soobin and the nap, he'd begun to hope that he was getting a little bit better...

Yet that all came crashing down as soon as he reached his next class. He had barely been conscious the whole time, and had no idea what they had even done at all.

Thus as soon as lunch came, he'd made a mad dash to the bathroom. And here he sat, hiding away in a stall, crouched in the corner as to shut out the world.

All Yeonjun could do was shut his eyes and breathe.
The day before felt like a merciful break compared to this. At least back then, it was just the pounding of his hurting head. Now? He could barely stand up straight without getting dizzy.

The soft feeling of his phone ringing in his pocket took him a moment to register in his dazed state.

Hesitantly, he felt around for the screen and clicked 'Answer,' mostly expecting it to be a spam call.

"Yeonjun," a familiar voice came through the speaker. "Are you okay, man?"

The concerned voice of Beomgyu distracted him from the dull head pain for a moment.

"Gyu...?" Yeonjun mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose as he'd seen others do to temporarily get rid of a migraine.
"Why do you ask?"

"Soobin mentioned the head thing, he's worried about you. You have a cold or something?"

Yeonjun weakly laughed at this.
"He's cute," he commented, before adding: "It's not a cold. I don't know what the hell it is, but it's way worse than a cold."

"Do you have a fever?" Beomgyu inquired.

"No. My mom took my temperature and it only said 102."

"You realize a demon fever starts at around 105, right?" Beomgyu reminded, his tone cautious.

"Don't see how that's relevant to me," Yeonjun argued. "I'm not a demon."

"Yeonjun..."

"Anyway," the elder cut him off, "If it gets bad enough I'll just google what I need to take."

"Jun, you can't do this to yourself," Beomgyu pleaded. "Go to a doctor."

"I can't. If I go my mom will know and she'll call my dad."

All he heard was a sigh from Beomgyu over the phone.
"Do you have any idea what could be causing this?"

Yeonjun shook his head, before realizing that the other couldn't see him through the phone.
"No. You got any ideas?"

"Hmm," came Beomgyu's voice. "Has anything different happened in the last few days? Any lifestyle or diet changes?"

"Well, I went to the protest yesterday," Yeonjun listed. "I switched out a prescription. I bought a new brand of chips the other day, and... I've had people over a lot?"

"What was the second thing you said?"  Beomgyu questioned.

"I... switched out a prescription?"

"A prescription drug? What was it?"

Yeonjun stared down at the floor for a moment.
"Y'know... the one that me and Kai take."

"What did you switch it out for?"

"The same thing," Yeonjun answered. "I just threw out the bottle I'd been using, now I'm taking some that I bought a few years ago."

The phone was silent for a moment, the boy on the other side of the line absorbed in thought.

"Are you sure they're working?" Beomgyu pushed.

"They should be. It's the same drug and dosage."

"You know that pills expire right?" Beomgyu spoke, his tone growing a little bit harsh.

"Gyu! They're only a few years old, they should work," Yeonjun threw back at him. "Even if they're weaker, it'll still be fine."

"You dumbass!" Beomgyu ranted, "You're telling me you might have completely abandoned a drug your body depends on? And then you're wondering why you're suffering?"

"Listen!" Yeonjun insisted. "I've seen Kai stop taking it too and he's been completely fine!"

"You are not Kai!"
Beomgyu fought back.
"You will never be like Kai or me! Please fucking think for once, do you want us to lose you because you're too damn stubborn to admit that you're different? You want us to have to explain to Soobin that you were too far in denial to be saved?"

The boy sat quietly, unable to form a word in reply. The incessant pains in his head almost seemed secondary as he struggled to find an answer.

"I..." Yeonjun mumbled. "I just thought that..."

"You didn't think at all!" Beomgyu scolded him. "I shouldn't have to be telling you stuff like this."

Yeonjun's vision of the phone screen blurred, although this time it was accompanied by gentle cascade of warmth dripping down his cheeks.
"I'm sorry..." was all he said to the other.

"Call your dad."

"What?" Yeonjun immediately responded, too disoriented to bother drying his face."No, I can't. I don't want to."

"Text him then. Ask him how he deals with this. I know painkillers won't work."
Beomgyu ordered.

Yeonjun covered his eyes with a sleeve as he felt more tears well up.
"I can't talk to him," he insisted, his voice shaking.

"But you need to," Beomgyu spoke calmly now, trying to convince the other.

"I'd rather die than talk to him," Yeonjun stated outright, his tone suggesting it was not a debatable topic.

"Why do you even hate him so much?" Beomgyu asked, his tone begging for a sensible answer.

"He's the reason I have to live like this. It would've been better if I was never born in the first place," Yeonjun said, scarily monotone.

The phone line was silent for a moment.

"I hope you know you're not allowed to die on me," Beomgyu tried to steer the conversation upward, his voice worried.

"I won't. I'm not suicidal, don't worry," Yeonjun answered, leaning back against the wall.
"I just can't look at him. He reminds me that I..."

"You know hating him won't help. From what I've heard, he's been nothing but supportive of you," Beomgyu consoled.

The tears became overwhelming as Yeonjun finally came to terms with the fact that he was, indeed, crying.
"I know... he doesn't deserve me," he mumbled.

"That is not at all what I meant and you know it,"  Beomgyu chastised.

Yeonjun gave a light hiccup, hurrying to dry his cheeks with the sleeves of his jacket.
"Okay, I'll call him," he gave in. "You win."

"It's the best choice, Jun," Beomgyu tried to comfort the elder. "I wouldn't tell you to do it unless I thought it would help."

"I know. It's okay," Yeonjun responded quietly in acceptance.

"I'll hang up first. You probably need some time to work up the nerve to text him, right?" Beomgyu offered.

"Sure... bye Gyu," the elder dismissed, hearing a soft "bye" back before the sound of a click.

Yeonjun ran a hand through his hair, knowing he was about to send one of the most stressful texts of his life.