Chapter Text
UM
It was a draining and painful situation, but if Hyunjin was ever crying, it certainly didn’t show on his face anymore. Right after the call with his mother ended, he got all dolled up again, with no crying spots in sight and adorned with luxurious garments, he headed out to Bangchan’s convenience store as he always did on Saturday.
The usual way there was a blur, the drug craving was as intense as sadness, but the lump in his throat didn’t stop his legs from working automatically. Knowing that his mother’s cancer had come back more aggressively sucked, and the feeling of helplessness was overwhelming.
“How are you doing, champ?” Bangchan welcomed him without looking in his direction, too occupied tending to a client “Changbin is in the back, you can go if you want to, I will be there as soon as I finish here”
“I told you to stop calling me that.'' He wasn’t one, never was, but it wasn’t like Chris cared how he felt, not in Hyunjin's vision at least. In response to his bratty attitude, the other man just laughed. Always so disgustingly happy.
It was annoying but to be fair, maybe that was what he deserved in this pathetic life. Be forever annoyed, or something like that. He went to the back as instructed, and found Changbin finishing a few packages of cocaine and candies.
“What's up with the crying face?”
“Nah, it’s just your imagination, I’m stunning as always” Hyunjin tried to dodge.
Changbin just rolled his eyes, used to that type of behavior. “Your mother again?”
Nodding in agreement, Hyunjin sat on the staff room’s disgusting sofa. Seriously, what was up with the number of suspicious stains? It didn’t matter, though, he had already spent countless nights sleeping there, perhaps that was the actual reason the Chang's bought it in the first place. Or maybe they just wanted to secretly kill him with some unknown disease.
It wasn’t long before Bangchan entered the room counting money with a gigantic smile plastered on his face. The sight of money always made him happy, his family’s convenience store had gone bankrupt some time ago, leaving all the debt on his shoulders. Which is why he had turned the back into a trap house.
Although Hyunjin knew the couple for about five years now, he only started selling for them about two years ago when he turned 20. He took his job very seriously, so they trusted him easily, especially knowing that he was born into a rich family and didn't need the money. He wasn't going to steal it. If the Changs knew he used part of it, it was never mentioned, he did pay for it after all.
“Didn’t know you worked in a circus” Bangchan said once he looked properly at Hyunjin’s face.
“Hm?” The brunette muttered dumbly.
“With all that makeup”
What an old person's thing to say. It suited him very well, so they all laughed. The atmosphere in the room was light, and the drugs were forgotten temporarily.
And they spent the afternoon just like that, sitting on the old disgusting sofa while eating the last orange bought with the employee’s discount, talking. Just talking. It was a genuine stress relief for Hyunjin, not having time to think about anything for a few hours. He almost felt like a normal college student and not some disgusting, useless freak (although a beautiful one, if he had any say in it).
The sun was setting when his phone started to ring incessantly, and an insane amount of messages from Han started rolling in. Hyunjin knew it wasn’t anything serious, only the youngest’s anxious and hyperactive personality that the brunette was already used to. He didn’t even bother to open the messages and only read them over the notification bar while getting up.
“Gotta go make some company for a friend.”
“Alright, don’t forget the package tho” Ah yes, that. The room turned dark for Hyunjin once again.
.
He was on autopilot once he left the store, his first instinct was to take a few pills as he made a mental reminder to pay for what he wasn’t going to sell. It’s not like he needed it, the craving wasn’t as bad as it was earlier, but something compelled him to do it. The feeling of comfort and the high was always welcomed, and it surely would make the time go by a lot faster.
He knew where his friend was without having to think much about it, in the last few weekends he was always at the clock tower, his cleaning job lasting about a month. Hyunjin wasn’t paying that much attention, to be honest, nor did he care enough. After all, he didn’t go there to actually help but to keep him company.
To his surprise, the interior of the tower wasn’t the usual, instead, he was greeted by the old stairwell leading to the top but a new makeshift living arrangement at the bottom. The decoration wasn’t anything fancy, consisting of a sofa, a table with tea arrangements over it, and a few decorations scattered around. The perfect place to take a nap. The surprises, however, didn’t end there, as a slender figure exhaling richness made itself known.
“Looks like I have company?” The boy’s firm voice startled Hyunjin. He didn’t know what caught his attention first, the innocent yet erotic voice or the presence of someone unknown. At the college’s clock tower. At night. On a Saturday.
“You look like the type of person that’s never alone.” He answered while winking at the pretty boy.
“Only accompanied by the right people.” The blond said ominously, in contrast with his angelical appearance. Honestly, nothing about him was making sense to Hyunjin, but maybe it was the drugs talking. “I’m Felix, what’s your name?”
Not one to obey others, the brunette answered sarcastically, “For what reason should I give my name to a janitor?”
“This janitor here can help you diminish your nightmares” The way he said it made Hwang think that perhaps there was some truth to it. As if somehow that blonde had read every corner of his soul in just a few seconds.
“Who said I have nightmares? Kind of smug on your part, no?”
“Hm, and you really think you can hide your addictive sluggish face under all that cheap makeup?” Felix’s voice was low and threatening, but it reached Hyunjin’s ears like a lullaby, making him blink slowly. He didn’t know if his sleepiness was the blonde’s doing or if he was having a drug crash already.
But the reality is that, it didn’t matter the reason. Before he could stop himself, Hyunjin was already walking to the sofa, ready for his forced slumber while ignoring Felix’s presence. At that moment, even if he secretly feared that the usual nightmares were going to catch up to him, his eyes refused to follow his brain’s order to stay awake. Damn, this is exhausting. He couldn’t even react when the other boy appeared by his side and took his hand to guide him to lay down.
“What are you doing?” It was all he could muster to say, in a slow voice, fighting his sleep.
“Making you forget about your problems,” Felix said while fondled with the brunette's hair. And Hyunjin believed him wholeheartedly.
.
He woke up with quite a cruel beam of light shining sarcastically in his eyes. He slowly sat on the floor, disoriented, not knowing exactly what had happened. Hyunjin saw the clock tower’s stairs making their way to the top as usual, but not a single evidence of yesterday’s room. Although the latter half was almost entirely a blur, he could swear he had felt the sofa and the boy’s presence before he slept. Maybe it was a hallucination, he could theoretically think about it to find a rational answer, but his headache was unbearable.
“Where the fuck have you been?!” The first thing that actually registered in Hyunjin’s mind was Han’s loud voice as he opened the door. “I searched for you everywhere!”
“I didn’t leave this place, I was here all this time” It was a short answer, and he hoped it was enough to make Jisung shut up.
“...You weren’t” Ah, yes, it wasn’t enough. To Han’s credit, he was speaking in a lower tone.
“I literally slept here yesterday, on the sofa”
“What sofa? I worked here the entire night, you didn’t appear! At all!” Han said loudly again before using a somber tone. “Hyunjin, have you been using drugs again?”
Hyunjin just laughed. Hallucination or not, last’s night boy lingered in his mind. But, he was going to have to postpone the thought as his headache got worse.