A/N: Apologising in advance. 🙏 It is a soap opera tho, so I'm only half sorry :/
'Hyung-ah! We're out of milk!'
Yeosang looked up from where he was sitting in Hongjoong's room at his desk, reading a textbook. Glancing at the time, he saw that it was just past seven pm.
Sighing, he shoved a pen in the book to keep his page and closed the cover, before wandering out into the living room.
He found Wooyoung standing in front of a bowl of already poured cereal, looking longingly at the last five or so mills of milk in the bottom of the bottle.
He looked up with his smokey eyes looking incredibly doe-like; such an innocent sadness in them that Yeosang's heart melted.
'Naw sweetie,' he cooed, walking up and wrapping his arms around him.
'B-b-but... I was so excited to eat this...'
Yeosang chuckled a little as his chest warmed. 'Should we go get Woo some milk?'
He pouted, putting the bottle on the counter before turning in his arms and hugging him back. 'It's already dark and late and cold. I'll just have to eat something else,' he said, pouting.
Yeosang's heart ached for him. 'It's not too late~. How about if we go pick Joong Hyung up from work and go shopping on our way home?'
Wooyoung leant back to look at him, and the sparkle in his eyes was adorable. 'C...can we? We hardly ever go out at night...'
Yeosang smiled. 'Kinda reminds you of when we first moved in, right?'
Nostalgia rolled over Yeosang of the days they had done their groceries at night, sometimes even going on a drive to gaze out at the city lights.
Wooyoung smiled widely, nodding like a small child. 'I miss those days,' he breathed wistfully, seeming to gaze off to a time and place years in the past.
Yeosang hugged him tighter, nodding. 'So do I, hun.' Those were times that were less stressful... More colourful... Less raught with the stress and pain of things that had happened in the past six months...
'Should I ring Hyung and see if he's still getting off work at eight?' Wooyoung asked; his voice tinkering and filled with excitement.
Yeosang smiled, reaching up and ruffling his hair. 'Don't worry, hun. I'll do it. You go grab your coat.'
Wooyoung's lips pulled into a magnificent smile. 'Okay~. I'll get Hyung-ah's too!'
Yeosang melted. 'Thank you, sweetie.'
~~~
As Yeosang pulled into the mall parking lot, he couldn't help but smile.
Wooyoung was asking Hongjoong all sorts of questions about his day, even going as far to ask him to explain certain things that he usually would have let fly over his head. And Hongjoong's joyous voice gave away how happy he was that the blonde was bombarding him with questions and interested in his day.
Parking the car, Wooyoung was the first to jump out and hurry around to get the bags from the boot.
And as the elders more slowly followed, Hongjoong nudged Yeosang as they pulled their coats on.
'Sang-ah, did I miss something? Why is Woo so excited tonight?' he asked softly, wrapping a scarf around his neck.
Shoving his phone and wallet in his back pocket, Yeosang shrugged. 'No clue. I think he really wanted to eat cereal,' he laughed quietly. 'Either that or he's feeling nostalgic.'
Hongjoong smiled sweetly as he gazed back at Wooyoung, already ready to go inside. 'I feel quite nostalgic as well... God, I can't believe it's been six years...'
Yeosang nudged his side, feeling his heart warm. 'Seven, Joong. Time flies when you're having fun.'
His eyes widened, and Yeosang could see the maths going on inside his head.
'Come on~n~n~! You two are so old and slow,' Wooyoung complained.
And Yeosang had to stifle laughter as Hongjoong looked at him with his lips in a shocked o, as if to say did we just get called old?!
Giggling, Yeosang just pushed his Hyung towards Wooyoung. 'You're old. I'm not,' he teased.
Falling into step together, Yeosang's heart softened as Wooyoung slipped between himself and Hongjoong and wove his arms with theirs.
'Joong-ah,' Wooyoung singsonged, nudging the older.
'Mmm?' he replied warmly.
'I decided what colour to dye your hair next,' he said with a sense of conviction, as though many hours of serious consideration had taken place.
'Oh really? What colour will I have permanently stained on my head this time?' he asked.
But Wooyoung just smiled widely and used the arm threaded through his to do a zipper lock on his lips, before throwing away the key. 'I told you it was a secret!' he pouted.
Hongjoong feigned an impatient groan. 'But you didn't know when you said that.'
'I might have!' he countered.
Walking through the mall doors and into the food court, Hongjoong laughed, giving in. 'Fine. have it your-'
His voice suddenly cut off as he made a surprised 'Oh?' sound.
'Sang-ah... Isn't that Jongho?'
Yeosang's heart thudded in his chest at the mention of his name, and the instant he realised that the boy could be somewhere around them right in that moment, his pulse began to quicken...
'Where?' Wooyoung asked, beating him to the golden question.
Hongjoong took his hand from his pocket to point over across the room to where a sizeable group of teenagers that looked about eighteen or nineteen were congregating outside the movie theatre's popcorn shop.
Yeosang's eyes scanned the crowd, not seeing anyone he recognised until...
There he was.
Standing on one side of the group, was the boy that made Yeosang's heart suddenly throb. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a thick hoodie, standing with some other guys who were all laughing about something or other.
A sting surfaced within Yeosang as he remembered the countless texts he'd sent, asking whether or not they would be able to see each other, but had been met with all different variations of sorry, I'm too busy.
Wooyoung suddenly squeezed his arm, turning to him gently. 'Sang...? Isn't that him?'
Swallowing, he had been just about to answer that yes, it was him, when suddenly, a high pitched voice drifted across the room, seeming to stand out against the bustling buzz of the food court.
'Omg Jongho-yah~! Come see this!'
Yeosang watched as Jongho looked up at his name, before smiling, nodding to his circle of friends, and migrating to the other side of the group.
And as he walked straight up to a girl who instantly put her arm low around his back, Yeosang's world stopped.
The two were in a small group with more than a few girls, and as they all seemed to have their attention captivated by something in their circle, they laughed.
... And then Yeosang saw Jongho slip his hand casually to rest on the girl's waist.
Yeosang's lips fell apart in shock, and his body refused to move. All he could do was stare... Stare, at the boy he'd fallen in love with, with someone else.
As the line they must have been in moved forward, Jongho and the group of girls stepped up to be served. The girl reached up to say something to Jongho, but evidently, he had missed whatever it had been. And so leaning down, his arms slipped further round her waist, and the girl put her lips to his ear to repeat herself...
Jongho laughed softly at whatever she'd said, standing back up straight, before he leant back to reply... But as he said whatever it was, the girl giggled, and as she looked at him, Yeosang's heart stopped as suddenly, she reached up and pressed a kiss into his lips...
'Aish, ya I'm going to kill him-'
Yeosang had to suddenly grab a hold of Wooyoung, who immediately started forward to stride across the room and do god-only-knew-what to the boy.
'Ya let go of me. I'm going to kill him.'
Feeling tears prickle in his eyes, Yeosang had to hold tightly onto him to stop him from leaving. But as he glanced at Hongjoong through teary eyes, he suddenly had to grab him too.
'Ya Sang, he just cheated on you,' Hongjoong said softly, yet sternly; his voice full of sober pain.
Yeosang gulped back his tears and nodded.
'Sang you can't let him get away with treating you like that,' Hongjoong scolded.
Dragging them down the hall, and eventually out of sight of the group of teenagers, Yeosang finally let them go.
But the instant he let go of Wooyoung, the blonde started right back down the hall.
'No, don't. Don't- Woo, ya, just- just leave him...'
Yeosang grabbed his arm, but softly this time, and it caught his brother's attention. Yeosang glanced down at his feet, feeling a tear slip down his cheek.
And Wooyoung gave in, pulling him into a hug instead. 'You can't let him treat you so badly,' he said softly, and in his voice, Yeosang could hear he was crying.
'Woo, just... Just ignore it...' he choked, squeezing his eyes closed and feeling tears spill down to soak into his brother's coat. 'Please?'
Wooyoung shook his head. 'No,' he said simply, pulling him tighter. 'I get that I shouldn't go up to him, but I want to slap him, so badly.
He hasn't seen you once since that lunch he made such a big deal about.
You care so much about him... You have been crying and coming to my bed every night. And he's been doing that. I'm disgusted. You deserve better than that, Yeosang. I'm not going to pretend I'm not mad and I'm not going to pretend that it's okay, because that is not, acceptable behaviour...'
Yeosang felt a hand gently press against his lower back, and turning around, he saw Hongjoong standing beside them, giving him a solemn nod. 'I agree... Sang... If he wants you, and chooses, you, he can't have anyone else.'
Yeosang sniffed, feeling a wave of sadness hit him as Wooyoung reached up and brushed away his tears. He knew that it wasn't right... And maybe Wooyoung was right... Maybe he deserved to be slapped across the face... Yeosang certainly felt like he wanted to. The weeks and weeks of pining after him, paining and missing him... It hurt...
But he also knew he was too emotional.
'Sang, you saw what happened when my ex cheated on me,' Wooyoung said, urging him to see clearly.
And Yeosang nodded. 'I know... I know, Woo... I- I'll talk to him,' he said softly.
Wiping his cheeks, he took a breath and tried to tell himself that those would be the last tears he shed. He turned to stare into Wooyoung's eyes, soaking up the love he felt for him, and the way being with his family gave him all the happiness that he would need.
Reaching up, he brushed the tears on those pale cheeks that had made his smokey eye makeup run, and gave him a small, choked up smile. 'I'll be okay, Woo~' he said softly. 'He's only a boy. I won't let him break my heart.'
Weaving his arm through his, he turned and found Hongjoong's as well, giving him a small, brave smile.
'Sang...' Hongjoong urged.
But he just shook his head. 'I don't want to think about it anymore.'
And as the two slowly gave in, exchanging concerned glances, Yeosang tried hard not to let himself get caught in the trap of replaying the memory over and over in his head, cutting the fresh wound even deeper.
Because as much as he would have liked to believe what he'd told Wooyoung... That he wouldn't let him break his heart...
His heart was already broken.
~~~
A/N: SORRYYYYYY 🙏🙏