Chapter Text
Moondae’s expression soured a bit as his phone was snatched from his hand. The culprit was none other than Lee sejin. Should he act surprised?
“Moondaemoondae, it seems like you like that phone of yours more than us, huh?” He said, with poor attempt to fake hurt and an even poorer attempt to conceal the wide grin that had spread across his face. God forbid a man doom scrolls on his phone for relief from social interactions, huh.
Bae Sejin gave a slight nod to his words. Few of the only times these two weren't at each other's throats. Rare.
“Sejin hyung’s right! You should pay more attention to us!” Eugene said with a pout. He could see Raebin being absolutely cringed out by whatever face Cha Eugene was making. Funny how he couldn't refute his words.
Well, given his hectic and probably unhealthy lifestyle, and the guy's university schedules, it was hard for them to meet up.
“Hyung, as much as I hate to defend this idiot, he's right.”
“Exactly! I'd invited you to come see my football match, but you didn't..” Hey, now, stop pouting like that.
“You also didn't show up to this guy's party 3 weeks ago.” Said Bae Sejin, pointing to the other Sejin. Hey, what the fuck would he do between some drunk college students?
“You didn't even show up to Sejin-hyung’s place when we were supposed to watch the new drama he starred in..” Ahyeon said, with an accusatory glint in his eyes. Even him?
“It's as if you're deliberately avoiding us~”
Moondae sighed, knowing he can't escape from this anymore.
“I've been busy these days,” He lied, everyone knew that. Though none of them commented.
“Hm..if you say so.”
He tuned in on whatever Eugene was yapping about college being shit and how Raebin almost got tricked by some sunbae into buying drugs, he shifted his attention to the beach house they were staying at—all thanks to Ahyeon’s courtesy of course. It was quite spacious and extravagant, to say the least, with each bedroom being twice the size of his entire place. This was where they will be staying for the next 3 days (again, all thanks to Ahyeon). Being rich must be nice.
“Need any help?” Chungwoo asked, as he attempted to help Moondae, who was grilling the meat carefully. Though his offer was refused by a polite ‘no’. Moondae would never trust this man in the kitchen.
“Cha Eugene, get back here!” Shouted Bae sejin, and Raebin being the ever obedient dongsaeng he is, dragged his ass back there from wherever the fuck he was going. He could see Lee Sejin from the corner of his eye, playing with his camera. Oh God, the amount of really badly taken photos that'll be on his camera roll were already giving him a headache. Who even decided to entrust him with his camera in the first place?
“I sooo don't want to go back anymore. College is definitely not for me. Hey, Raebin, what do you say? Let's drop out of college together! I can't do this shit anymore..” Cha Eugene cried.
“You really are an idiot, huh.” He said, smacking the redhead's back.
“Y-you said that yesterday..” Ahyeon said.
“And a few hours ago as well.”
“Even you, Chungwoo-hyung?”
Ahyeon sat down beside Lee Sejin as the youngest two kept bickering, no one attempting to stop them, being too used to their bullshit by now.
He looked through all the pictures he'd taken on the camera throughout the day with a can of beer in his hand. Ahyeon accidentally dozing off on his shoulder and still looking like the ethereal prince he was, Kim Raebin showing his usual deadly expression as Chungwoo muttered something into his ear, Bae Sejin trying and failing poorly to conceal his disgust as he read some poorly written booktok book on their way here, Moondae dragging Eugene's ass before he wandered off to somewhere , and a group picture he tried to take of the other six (though this attempt was in vain as he was photobombed by none other than Cha Eugene).
“Hey, ahyeonahyeon, look at this, I did good right?” He said, resting his head on Ahyeon's shoulder, showing him the numerous photos he took of him. Most of the pictures were blurred, though it did little to conceal Ahyeon's ethereal face.
“Sejin-ah, these are absolutely horrible to be honest.” Ahyeon said with a serious expression.
“Even kids know how to take better pictures. These are absolutely horrible.”
“Oh wow, not everyone is a professional like you, hyung~show some mercy on me, will you?”
Moondae sipped on his alcohol as he looked through his gallery, trying his best to ignore Bae Sejin's judgemental gaze.
By this point, the living room had turned into a makeshift karaoke. Ahyeon, half-drunk, got dragged by Lee Sejin to sing some girl group song. And that too awfully off key. It was so bad to the point that even Raebin of all people called them out on it.
He talked to Chungwoo, catching up on stuff. There wasn't much to talk about, other than his recent achievements in some archery competition. Although he was taken aback when he said that someone whom he had rejected tried to stalk him recently, although it went miserably. He was slightly concerned upon hearing that, and even more concerned when he brushed it off as if it was nothing.
By this point everything was a mess. Ahyeon was now talking with Bae Sejin about a new drama he was staring in, Lee Sejin was still singing in that shitty tone as if his life depended on it, Cha Eugene joining him, while he still stuffed a huge amount of food into his mouth, Ryu chungwoo had already consumed 5 cans of beer and was going for more, and Raebin looked like he was about to pass out. Poor kid.
“Seriously, I can't believe they cast me to play the role of such a shitty second lead. Un-fucking-believable.” Bae Sejin grumbled in frustration. Right. He had dropped out during his second year to focus more on his acting career.
“..I-It doesn't seem that bad though.”
“It doesn't, but it's absolutely shitty. The director's a fucking piece of shit, my co-actors are—I guess decent. But the sponsor of this drama—”
“Is probably involved in gambling? You've been saying that almost everyday these days, you know?” Chungwoo said, gulping down the rest of his drink one go. He seemed slightly tipsy.
“Yeah, that. But that fucker acts like creep,” He took a pause to take a sip of his drink. “And one of the actors’ just got involved in a dating scandal. So you can imagine—”
“Cha Eugene, could you do me a favor and just shut the fuck up..?” Raebin muttered, glaring at Eugene who was singing as if his life depended on it.
"Nope!"
“How much of a mess things are.” Bae Sejin finished, ignoring the younger two bickering.
He grabbed another can of beer, ignoring Bae Sejin's judgemental gaze (yet again). He was already a bit tipsy by now, enough so that he found it difficult to focus on the whatever conversation those three were having about dating scandals.
Noticing Raebin, who looked like he could throw up any moment now, he called out to him.
“Raebin-ah, follow me.” And he did so, although a bit wobbly due to the alcohol he consumed (seriously who the fuck gave him so much to drink?). He handed the younger the younger man a glass of water as he walked into the room, and grabbed some antacids.
“Take these as well.” Raebin's face instantly lit up. Hey, now, stop making that face.
“Thank you, hyung! I will.” He couldn't help the small, almost unnoticeable smile that formed on his face.
He got out from there and walked outside to clear his mind. As he stepped out, a gush of strong, cold wind brushed past him. The view from here was pretty, to be honest. Not that he was all that much interested in it. He pulled out a cigarette, searching for his lighter. He took a long drag of it, relishing in it's feel.
“M-moondae-hyung?” Ahyeon called out to him, half-drunk. He paused in his tracks for a while, seeing the cigarette in his hand. He must've been out for quite a while.
“...”
“...”
“Moonda—”
“..I know. I'm still trying to quit. Atleast it's not as bad as back then, right?”
Ahyeon looked at him as if he wanted to argue with him, but just shut his mouth in the end. They stayed still in silence, which was broken occasionally by the rustle of the trees. Moondae finally spoke.
“Once again, thank you, for letting us stay here.”
“N-no! I-I mean, yes..I also wanted to spend time w-with you guys, It's just..I'm worried about you, especially because of how you've been acting distant lately. It's b-because of him, isn't it?”
“...Yeah.” He hated how vulnerable he sounded right now. Being open with others was something he was terrible at. Baring his feelings to others felt too much for him.
“I just wanted you to know that none of it—”
“I know. You've said it many times now.” He said, a small chuckle escaping his lips, which didn't quite reach his eyes.
“I-I…I won't question your choices, if that's how you d-decide to cope, but I just want you t-to know that you can always talk about it with us..”
“I will. I just need time to sort things out in my mind.” Although it was hard to accept, he couldn't afford to burden these guys with worry. For him. So, he had to try, be it for them.
Ahyeon's lips curved up on hearing that.
“I'm glad. Glad that you trust us.” He said, his face glowing amidst the fiery cold winds. He couldn't help but soften up a bit in the vulnerability of the moment.
“You should go in now. Can't trust those guys alone now, can you? I'll be back in a while.”
“R-right.” He glanced at moondae one more time before walking in. Instead of following him, he decided to go for a short walk.
The moon hung low as he dragged his feet across the sand. His hair swayed as the cold winds brushed past him. He watched and watched, although not particularly impressed. Watched as the the moonlight cast a dim glow across the huge expanse of water, the waves moved with a steady rise and fall, the person drowning–
Wait.
What the hell?
What he had planned for the next few days was to take a break. What he hadn't planned, though, was ending up where he was right now. Everything that had happened in the last few hours felt like a blur. He didn't quite remember when he had ended up in the hospital or what had happened before that. All he remembers is being questioned by the authorities.
His head throbbed in pain, probably due to the amount of alcohol he had drank last night. Speaking of last night, he really needs to get back. The guys would probably be worrying their asses out for him.
The guy that was drowning, though, wasn't in that bad of a condition, and luckily, had regained consciousness soon after.
He put on the best fake-ass smile he could, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head, as he exchanged pleasantries with the staff. He didn't pay much attention as she praised him for saving that man, instead, his gaze fell on the man inside. He had a pretty handsome face, even though he was just on the verge of death a while ago. And when their eyes met for a split second—
“...Then I'll be going now.”
He could've sworn that the man was glaring at him, as if he wanted to kill him.