Pretty Boy Across the Hall

Because of Everything

"I'm going to take a nap," Seungcheol announced as he pulled himself off of the couch. He'd just been staring at the ceiling anyway, but he decided to head to his room for some official rest.

From the kitchen, Seokmin watched him. "Okay. I might be going out a little later. Just call me if you need anything."

"Thanks," he replied, flashing a thumbs up as he closed the door behind him.

Seokmin sighed. Today was his turn to take care of Seungcheol while Seungkwan covered Jeonghan and Wonwoo took Jisoo. But since Seungkwan had work for a few more hours, Seokmin had promised that he'd go check on Jeonghan in his place. It had been so hard seeing all of his friends in such distress, but Seokmin tried his best to be there for them. In his opinion, throughout all the rotations, his shifts with Seungcheol were always the hardest. Seungcheol was just so incredibly down that almost nothing seemed to cheer him up.

As Seungcheol plopped himself on the bed, he repeated what he was doing in the living room, just staring at the ceiling, waiting for himself to drift off. But so many thoughts were still crowding his head. Since his conversation with Wonwoo yesterday, Seungcheol couldn't help but hurt all over. Wonwoo hadn't seen Mingyu in years. He hadn't talked to Mingyu in years. He hadn't forgotten Mingyu within those years. And Seungcheol feared that that would be his fate too. Sure, he had Jihoon's number and, yes, he knew where the boy lived, but would he ever truly see him again? Would he ever see the Jihoon that he was falling in love with? Would he ever see the Jihoon that admitted to almost falling for him? Would the boy with the pink hair and soft cheeks ever look at him the same if he went to see him? Seungcheol was afraid that the answer was no.

"Then you should fight to get him back," Seungcheol heard Wonwoo say in his head, the Wonwoo who endured the greatest heartbreak Seungcheol had ever heard of.

Seungcheol sighed. He was too tired of fighting. His body was exhausted. He had cried and he had screamed and he had hurt. He was so tired. He needed to sleep.

But just before he dozed off, Seungcheol thought of Jihoon. He didn't think of all the pain Jihoon had caused him or all the grief, but just Jihoon. He thought of his laugh and his insanely easy-to-initiate blushing. He thought of his coffee order and class schedule. He thought of his lack of a major and his want to explore his opportunities. He thought of his warmth and his touch. His hair and his eyes. His lips. His lucky number. His apartment across the hall.

With a heavy heart, Seungcheol closed his eyes and imagined Jihoon as he fell asleep.

But Jihoon was wide awake as he imagined Seungcheol. Running down the sidewalk, he was pumping his legs like crazy as he approached the building that Jeonghan had written down. He skidded to a stop and reached for the door when he realized that it was locked. "Fuck!" he screamed. He'd forgotten to ask for the entrance code. "Goddamnit!"

He looked at the security keypad and knew that he could ask to be buzzed in, but he really didn't want the first time he talked to Seungcheol to be over an intercom. Pacing, he thought of his options when all of a sudden an old man opened the door to exit the building. "Oh! Thank you!" Jihoon yelled, holding the door before it could shut behind the confused, old man. "Thank you!"

Entering the building, he stopped in front of the elevators and clicked the up button before he read the signs on both of them. OUT OF ORDER.

Frustrated out of his mind, Jihoon gripped his head and spun around. "ARE YOU—?!" Just then he noticed the door to the stairwell. "Just great," he groaned, knowing his only option. Without any further hesitation, he went in and started making his way up. Going as fast as he could, Jihoon darted up the first few flights, trying to keep his stamina. "Had to be the eighth floor, didn't it?!" Jihoon complained to himself. "The things I do for love."