Unconditional Feelings (Heesun)

23

"You seem kinda lost these days, is everything okay?" Sunghoon asked, glancing over at Riki who seemed to stare at the crescent, starry stars. "I don't know...I mean, I should be happy but m' not, and–I don't know why...." Riki answered, drifting his gaze from the constellations to his shoes. "I just don't want to leave, hyung..."

Sunghoon quietly listened, feeling the same despair for the younger. He was in quite the same situation. He knew about Riki since they were quite close to each other.

"I don't wanna leave...but I have to, I don't know if there's any other way for me to stay here, with yall. I want to talk to my dad, but he doesn't seem to care enough. What do I do hyung?" Riki finally stared at the latter beside him, their eyes connected with one another, not daring to move an inch. "Did you ever talk to him, you know like those father-son conversations? You might actually need to talk to him to fix your confusion," Sunghoon replied, clutching his hands together. "You might be missing something deep within, like—maybe he'll actually get you?"

Riki pondered upon the thought, sighing in frustration. Both latter perceived silence for a few seconds, a comfortable silence. The faint croaks and the flow of the hollow breeze echoed throughout. The trees swayed from left to right, and the smell of fresh grass filled their nostrils.

"Do you like Sunoo?" Sunghoon abruptly asked, inching closer to the younger sitting beside him. "You're pretty obvious actually."

"H-huh? What do you mean? Me liking Sunoo?" Riki nervously chuckled. "Well, I guess... does everyone in the group know—about me and you know... my feelings toward him?"

"Yeah, m' pretty sure, well, I don't think Heeseung knows, that guy barely pays attention to us these days. I honestly don't know what happened to him. Like, he used to be so talkative, way too snarky, and overly confident for some reason, but now...I don't know what happened to him, he changed all of a sudden." Sunghoon paused to heave a sigh then continued," He doesn't even pick on Sunoo anymore...wait—do you think something happened between the two–I mean, aren't they acting so weird these days, they seem so awkward with each other. right?" Sunghoon's mood swiftly switched from calm and relaxed to almost surprised.

Riki thought about the different possibilities. How could the younger somehow 'change' the older? It sounds weird even just thinking about it. "I mean, now that I think about it, I guess..." Riki's voice trailed off as his head was cramped with different thoughts.

After sitting in silence, both males continued talking, laughing, and feeling giddy with each other.

________

"What took yall so long?" Jake asked when he noticed Riki and Sunghoon walking inside the diner, laughing about something. "We were walking outside. Why? Did we miss something important?" Sunghoon asked while plopping down on his seat. "No, nothing much. Just school and life stuff, I don't know." Jungwon answered while rubbing his stomach. "M' so full...." Jungwon slumped back in his seat and closed his eyes for a few seconds.

"Oh yeah, Sunghoon, finish your food. We're not gonna leave unless you finish your food first." Jay deadpanned while scrolling through his phone, not sparing a single glance. "Shut up, I know." Sunghoon picked up his chopsticks and continued eating while the group chit-chatted. Riki and Sunghoon would sneak glances at one another when nobody was looking, both felt an unfamiliar feeling from within.

"Thanks for the meal, Jay." Sunghoon smacked Jay's back, receiving a glare from the other. "Keep your hands off me, or I'll punch you right now," Jay replied back, his voice lacing with annoyance. Sunghoon raised his hands in defeat and paced away, hiding behind Heeseung. "Look, Hyung, he's gonna kill me." Sunghoon playfully peaked behind the older's back. "Tch." Heeseung lightly chuckled under his breath and continued following the group.