cold | junhao

三十五

"Are you okay? You sound out of breath."

Phone pressed between his shoulder and ear, Jun lets out a breath and straightens his back, screwing up his face as his spine clicks in multiple places. He stares at the boxes around him, which he's had to lug down the stairs from his apartment to the lobby, thanks to the elevator being broken. 

"Oh, yeah," he says. "I'm fine. Just... finished working out."

Minghao chuckles on the other end. "Are you free later? We haven't hung out in a while, and Ai is getting restless because she misses you."

Smiling to himself, Jun wanders over to an armchair in the communal area and collapses into it. "I'm sorry," he says, picking at a loose thread on his jeans. "I've been kinda busy with work recently... got a lot going on, you know? I'm free all day tomorrow though, so lets go out somewhere."

"Okay!" Minghao replies, and he sounds like he's about to carry on, but he's cut off by a noise in the distance. He sighs. "Lulu's barking, I should probably go... see you tomorrow," the lightness in his voice sends a small pang through Jun's heart, as it only reminds him that what he just said to Minghao—about what he's doing and being busy with work—is a lie.

"Yeah," he says softly. "See you tomorrow... love you, Hao."

There's a short pause, before Minghao responds. "I love you too."

The call is cut off, Jun drops the phone to his lap with a sigh, and tilts his head back to stare at the ceiling. It's not like he's never going to tell Minghao... just not for a few days. But still, it creates a weighted feeling in his chest that Jun can't shake off.

"RAA!!"

Jun jolts in his seat, as a pair of hands plant themselves on his shoulders and a voice screams in his ear. He yells out a curse, swinging his body round and glaring at a cackling Jeonghan, who holds his hand to his chest as he laughs. 

His heartbeat and breathing erratic, Jun takes a few steady breaths before sinking back into the chair, closing his eyes momentarily. "I hate you."

All he gets in return is another bout of laughter.

As he slowly sits up again, Jun's eyes catch with a few other people in the lobby, who glare at the pair. Jun smiles awkwardly and bows his head towards them as a way of apologising. He quickly looks away from all of them, wanting nothing more than to disappear into a black hole. Instead, he slaps Jeonghan's arm with all his might. 

Jeonghan just stares at him for a moment as sips his drink, but eventually he stands up and waves Jun over. "So," he says. "How the fuck do we get all this to my house?"

"No idea." Jun shrugs. "Doesn't Mingyu have a car?"

Jeonghan clicks his fingers and nods. "Cool," he says. "You ring him, tell him it's life or death and we need a car right now." 

When Mingyu arrives—running into the lobby with a panicked expression, only for it to vanish when he sees his two friends lolled out on armchairs and smirking at him—he stops dead and glares at them. "Are you kidding me?" he groans. "I actually thought it was important."

"It is!" Jeonghan argues. "Just... not that urgent."

Rolling his eyes, Mingyu drops into the chair across from them. "Well, I'm here now. What's up?"

"Can you help us move my stuff to Jeonghan's?" Jun asks, gesturing over to where numerous boxes are still piled by the stairway—along with a couple of suitcases. "Neither of us have a car."

Mingyu stops for a second, his lips parting. He looks at Jeonghan with a frown. "You have a car!"

"Correction," Jeonghan points at him. "My sister has a car, and I steal it frequently. But Hana's out right now."