𝔰𝔠𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔠𝔥 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔟𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔪𝔢 [𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔪𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲] | ENHYPEN

5. Si vales, valeo

"Sometimes I feel like I'm crazy, like all my friends hate me
Overthinking alone, no one picks up their phone
My anxiety tells me that you're better without me"

– Mckenzie Grace, do all my friends hate me

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The myth about vampires being pale comes directly from another myth—the idea that vampires can't be under the sun without dying. Now, that isn't exactly true, but Sunoo didn't learnt about that until primary school, thanks to his desk mate who happened to be a vampire. Five minutes after making that revelation to Sunoo, the boy decided to bolt outside under a 35° weather during recess, practically sending Sunoo into an early grave, because he had been convinced that he'd lose his new friend to a brightly shining sun. He had literally been ready to find him melted into a puddle or maybe dried like a fish out of water for too long. Turns out, sun doesn't kill vampires—only makes them weaker, which isn't fun, but as long as they are appropriately dressed and use a great sunscreen, they don't face any major risk.

Anyways, that's where the myth about them being pale comes from, which, therefore, isn't always true. Despite that, Sunghoon had always been a pretty stereotypical vampire, with his pointy canine even when he didn't bear his fangs, his overall liking of the cold, and his paler skin. Sunoo never thought that he could look even paler, in an almost sickening way—in a way that would scare him for the life of his friend—until last night.

Despite the limited amount of sleep he had gotten, Sunoo didn't even need an alarm or the be shaken awake by Jungwon to get up. They had agreed with their manager to go to the hospital as soon as they would be permitted to see Sunghoon, and Sunoo wasn't going to let sleep get in between that.

To say that he feels relieved the moment his gaze fell on his member would be an understatement. The sense of relief takes over his entire body, from head to toes, the moment they are allowed to step inside his hospital room. It is surreal to see Sunghoon like this —awake, eyes focused—when it felt like they were losing him merely a few hours ago. His bed is slightly raised so that he can roll his head and look at them without having to sit up. There is a healthier glow to his face compared to when they brought him there, and he's gained some colours overnight. Within the first seconds of seeing him like this, Sunoo feels the fear that was still sitting inside him vanish.

The moment Sunghoon's eyes catches their presence, a Jungwon-shaped body slumps on him. The older's lips turn into a slight smile, and he tries to open his mouth, but is ultimately cut by Heeseung.

"Park Sunghoon, you are never doing this to my heart again!" He punctuates his sentence by joining in the hug, doing his best to avoid touching his bandaged upper arm.

"You really scared the shit out of us, hyung," Jungwon adds.

Finally, his eyes meet Sunoo's. And suddenly, the boy has to fight back his mind from going back to last night. To the changing rooms, to the last time he got to lock eyes with his hyung before he went delirious. He cannot afford to waver back to that night, to the terror and weakness he felt—the weakness he recognised as a part of him, as a human stuck between a vampire and a werewolf that went berserk. He doesn't think he wants to deal with those emotions right now, and chooses instead to push them back.

He cannot afford to drift back there.

So he smiles as he says, "You really did, hyung."

Sunghoon smiles in return and waves his free hand for Sunoo to join in their messy hug. They are all thrown higgledy-piggledy over Sunghoon, which results them being in quite uncomfortable positions. Despite that, Sunoo feels good there.