yeosang entered the school gates, squinting his eyes in curiosity at the massive crowd of students huddled up by one end of the premises. confusion decorating his face, he carefully decided to make his way towards them, wondering what could possibly be of this much attention.
the last time he'd seen the school in such a fuss was when wooyoung went missing. a week had passed since the incident, and despite the constant reminders on television, it didn't seem like the police were any step closer to solving the case. it hurt to say the very least; it was like a piece of yeosang's heart chipped off every time he'd woken up to see no updates on his kidnapped best friend.
nearing the large number of noisy students, yeosang spotted a familiar head of brown hair within the crowds, causing him to grin.
differing greatly to his initial expectations, he wasn't completely alone without his best friend. of course, no one could ever fill the hole that the lack of wooyoung had created, not even if they tried their absolute hardest, but jongho was... okay to be around. he was kind, funny at times, and didn't take offence to yeosang's brutally sarcastic comments — not a lot people could top that.
quickening his pace, yeosang rushed over to jongho, who was too immersed in whatever was going on that he didn't notice a presence behind him until the boy blew into his ear. he yelped, flinching in his spot, but his threatening expression softened at the angelic giggle entering his ears.
"god, sang, was that really necessary?" jongho muttered.
yeosang just shrugged his shoulders, amused. "to get your attention, yes." and before the younger could question what exactly was meant by yeosang's words, he continued, "what's going on here?"
"well..." jongho stepped to the side, allowing the latter to get a look for himself. at yeosang's gaping jaw, he bit his lip. "the cops dropped the case."
scruffy, red letters were spray painted over the side of a police car, and due to the untidiness of the hand writing, it took a few seconds for yeosang to make out what it read. but once he did, a half-hearted chuckle left his lips. whoever was behind this were clearly brave — passionate, even. and yeosang couldn't help but respect that. props to them.
"bastards, indeed," yeosang agreed under his breath, tears pooling his eyes.
"sang, you- you're okay with this?!"
at the abrupt, harsh voice, yeosang turned to jongho, whose eyebrow was raised, features expressing his emotions evident. he was raging, and all the elder could do was roll his eyes.
"yes," yeosang answered calmly. "yes, i am okay with this."
"but—"
"but nothing," jongho was interrupted with. "whoever is behind this is right, the cops are fucking bastards. they've given up on my best friend if you haven't gotten it into your head already, does it look like i care about what you think?" yeosang scoffed, wiping away the lone tear that had raced down his cheek.
he then turned his back on jongho, solely ignoring the tiny fraction of him that was against the idea, before heading into the college building. the scene outside had grabbed so much attention that the corridors were almost completely empty, and he was glad; the usual suffocating mobs of students wouldn't have done him any good in this situation.
despite having no specific destination in mind, yeosang found his subconscious walking him to the bathrooms. slamming the door shut behind him, he locked himself in a stall and sunk to the ground, his back pressed against the wall.
yeosang bought his knees up to his chest, instantly hugging them with his arms as he let his head hang low.
he didn't think he'd ever been this conflicted before, and it was even stranger that he felt this way over someone he'd befriended a mere week ago. jongho disapproving of the cops' property being vandalised with profanities was the last thing yeosang had expected from the younger, so it affecting their friendship was certainly something he'd never imagined to happen. hell, he'd never even imagined their friendship being ruined at all, let alone over something like this.
because surely everyone knew that the police weren't always the most just people, their godforsaken, bigotry beliefs overpowering their duty to protect.
yeosang didn't want to believe it, that jongho, his friend, supported such a fucked up system. there must be a reason he acted that way, right? there has to be, he's not like that, yeosang continued to tell himself.
it only hit him now, how much of a positive impact jongho made on his life. maybe it was because he'd been wooyoung deprived for the past week, causing him to go insane, but even if it was something more than that, he didn't want to let jongho out of his life. not just yet, at least.
therefore, yeosang figured that it wouldn't hurt him to talk to the boy, let him explain, even — if that was even needed, though he sure hoped it was.
and whilst he was coming up with a shit ton of scenarios, both good and bad, the door outside of the toilet stalls was being pushed open, the sound making him flinch slightly. the door then creaked shut, slowly, as whoever it was wanted to be careful.
"hey, sang?" oh. it's him. "i-i know you're in here, please can you come out? i want to talk to you... if you give me a chance to explain, that is. please?"
staying quiet, yeosang, surprised at his own bravery, stood up from the ground. his butt ached a little at the fact that it had been sitting on the firm ground for so long, but after wincing at how stiff he felt, he ignored the feeling. once he took a deep breath, followed with a quick, internal pep talk, he slid the lock of the bathroom stall open.
jongho spun around at the noise coming from behind him. "uh, hey..."
yeosang forced his lips to curve upwards into a smile. "you wanted to explain, right?"
"yeah, i- um, thanks for hearing me out," jongho started, slowly stepping closer to the older. "first of all, i'm sorry. i didn't take your feelings into account when i got upset earlier, and now, after reflecting on the situation, i understand why you acted the way you did." yeosang nodded his head in acknowledgment, jongho's maturity of being surprise to him. "but i want you to know that there's also a reason i reacted that way... um—"
"if it's something personal, you don't need to tell me, jongho. i trust you, truly, and i know you only have good intentions," yeosang said, now a genuine smile decorating his features — expression effortlessly mirrored by jongho.
"it really means a lot that you think so highly of me, sang." the tone of the younger's voice was coated with a layer of playfulness, yet yeosang could still spot the sincerity within it. "and i-i trust you, too... which is why i've decided to tell you this..."
yeosang heaves himself upwards onto the basin. "i'm all ears."
"thank you." jongho joined the latter, before sighing. "well, um, there's no point in sugarcoating any of this, so i won't. my- mother — she passed away a few years ago..."
"oh... i'm sorry, i—"
"it's okay- i just... she was a police officer, s-so..."
"fuck- jongho, i..." due to the brunette's dismayed expression, yeosang hesitantly wrapped an arm around his shoulder. the act caused jongho to turn his head to him, and whilst mentally questioning the bubbly feeling in his stomach at the intense eye contact they held, yeosang spoke, "i'm sorry. i'm gonna be honest with you, i don't know how it feels to lose someone like that but... you're strong, you know? for dealing with her loss, and for—"
a scream echoed through the atmosphere.
yeosang jumped at the eerie, high pitched sound, jongho's arms finding their way around the older's torso at his shaken state. "wha-what—"
"it's okay," jongho assured softly. "we can... check and see what that was? only if you want, of course."
nibbling on his lower lip anxiously, yeosang nodded his head. and he didn't exactly know why, but he supposed it was because a part of him wanted to make sure nothing else was out of place. wooyoung being missing was more than enough.
yeosang allowed jongho to help him down and, taking him aback, his arms don't budge from around his figure. but, as he was guided through the corridors, he didn't do or say anything to change that. it was warm, really warm. comfortable, too, so much that he wondered what it felt like to fall asleep while being held like this and— what? no, i can't have just thought that.
the giddiness in yeosang's stomach said otherwise, however.
a cold shiver randomly tingled through the boy, causing him to scan his surroundings, now that they were back outside.
"it came from here, i believe," jongho stated, almost like he could read yeosang's confusion, before letting an arm fall to his side. the other stayed by the latter's waist, though, loosely hung around him; it felt even more intimate, somehow.
yeosang's gaze wandered the school grounds, drifting to the gates, right as a police car entered through it. "didn't they drop the case?"
"well, that's what was going around..."
sirens ringing, the red and blue of the lights circling the area, the vehicle came to a stop. a few students approached it with curious looks, but the officer exiting it stopped them in their tracks.
nervous, yeosang shuffled closer to jongho. "what do you think's going on?"
the younger just shrugged his shoulders, eyes attentively trained on the scene occurring. yeosang did the same at the lack of answer, watching as the same police officer turned to the backseat of his car, harshly pulling something out of it.
no— someone.
"san?" yeosang whispered. the pear-haired boy, hands cuffed in front of him, was dragged out of the vehicle, expression nonchalant as the cop ripped his backpack off of his shoulders. the man swiftly unzipped it, emptying the contents within to the ground with no care.
spray paint cans toppled to the ground.
wait, what?
the officer didn't react to it, as if that was precisely what he was expecting, and instead he took them into his hands, shoving them into the boot of his car. then, he neared san again, fiddling with the handcuffs restraining him before they slipped off of his wrists. the man leaned forward, muttering something into his ear — too quiet for yeosang to make out, despite trying — but all san did was roll his eyes.
once the pear-haired was let go of, he rubbed at his wrists a little, kicking his stuff sprawled out on the ground to the side. he brought his hood over his head, before trudging to the doors of the building, shocked gazes burning into the back of his head.
as much as he secretly liked the touch, yeosang brushed jongho's arm off of him.
running forwards and stopping san from entering, he reached out for his wrist. the taller boy whizzed around, attempting to snatch himself out of the unknown hold, eyes widening at who was stood before him. nervousness ghosted his features.
yeosang found it odd that himself of all people could break the cold facade san had built, especially moments after being handcuffed. but that was the least important thing right now.
at how uneasy the other seemed, yeosang loosened his grip. "uh, san... can we talk?"
———
a/n: uhhh plot twist sort of- thoughts???