Elysian - Woosan

thirty one

"I'm sorry, San. You almost died because of me and I..." He sniffled and swallowed hard.

"...I am so, so sorry."

When he finished speaking, tears began to fall freely down his face.
He gently rubbed his hand on the bandages on his waist. They were soaked through with blood.

After what seemed like forever, he heard footsteps enter his peripheral vision.

Wooyoung quickly wiped his eyes on his sleeve as he looked up and met his best friend's gaze. And then it all came crashing onto him.

Mingi.

Mingi's lifeless body in Yeosang's arms.
Yeosang sobbing over his lifeless body. Yeosang crying while telling Mingi that everything would be okay.

Wooyoung gasped and pushed himself upright.

"Yeosang-"

"How are you, Your Highness?"

Yeosang asked instead. Wooyoung searched his eyes for anything familiar, for anything at all that could tell him how he should react.

But Yeosang just looked tired and broken. The kind of broken that only comes with the realization that something horrible had happened in his life.

That someone dear to him had suffered irreparable damage to their heart and soul.

He looked empty and hollow.

Wooyoung bit his lip. "Are you alright, Yeosang?"

This earned him a laugh from the older male. Yeosang brought both of his hands up to cover his mouth. But even with the distance between them, Wooyoung could still hear the cracks in the laughter.

"Mingi-"

Yeosang flinched violently at his mention.

"Please, Wooyoung, I can't do this right now," Yeosang said, closing his eyes tight. Wooyoung could've sworn he saw some of his tears land on his cheeks. His heart broke for his friend.

He wanted nothing more than to wrap Yeosang into a tight embrace and never let go and he did just that.

He tried his best to ignore his arm protesting at the movement and rubbed the blond's back soothingly.
Yeosang stiffened at the sudden contact.

"Please Yeosang, talk to me." Wooyoung pleaded.

Finally, after many minutes of silence between the two boys, Yeosang spoke.

"He was the one thing I ever knew to look forward to every day. H-He made me so happy, Wooyoung. Even though I couldn't show him how I truly felt because of him. I loved him Wooyoung. So much."

As Yeosang's voice wavered, Wooyoung felt a sharp pang in his chest. He knew how much Yeosang cared about Mingi.

As they stayed like that, a slight rustling caught their attention. Yeosang looked up sharply from Wooyoung's chest where he'd buried his face.

A young woman carrying a tray walked towards their direction with an apologetic smile on her lips.

She set the tray on the small table next to San's bed. It contained a new set of bandages and ointment along with other necessary medical supplies.

Once she was certain that the tray was secure on the table, she looked at the two boys standing in front of her with her eyebrows furrowed.

"My apologies if I've interrupted your visit." She said.

Wooyoung waved at her with a small smile.

"It's fine. Are you going to change the bandages?"

He asked pointing at the soaked bandage wrapped around his waist.