A/N: Idk there's some language and descriptions of (anxiety?)...so...you've been warned.
"...Yes."
Sunoo squeezed his eyes shut. Of course...it was selfish of him to ask that. He had blown Sunghoon off first, and now he was asking him to wait on him? Selfish.
"Of course, I'll wait for you." Sunghoon says. He held Sunoo tightly. He wanted to run away a minute ago but now he didn't want to release him. Even if Sunoo was never ready, Sunghoon was satisfied with this moment right now. When Sunoo was in his arms. Possibly for the last time, so he held him tightly.
"I'll wait forever for you." Sunghoon repeats, quieter. Sunoo exhaled sharply, more tears coming to his eyes. He held Sunghoon back with equal strength. Thankful for Sunghoon's understanding.
"Don't say something so cringe." Sunoo mumbled. Sunghoon laughed. Sunoo loved that sound. He had missed that sound. It was...his comfort.
Another gust of wind brought him back to his senses. How long has it been? It could have been thirty minutes...or it could have been an hour. Sunoo shivers and buries his head deeper into Sunghoon's jacket.
"Try to stay awake..." Sunghoon whispers. He removes his jacket and wraps it around Sunoo then stands to his feet.
"Where are you going?" Sunoo asks, upset by how desperate he sounded.
"To see if any windows are unlocked, we can't stay out here for another hour."
"It's cold...Hoon."
Sunghoon froze at the nickname again. He looks down at Sunoo and smiles.
"Do you forget who I am?" Sunghoon frowns, "Or...I guess I should say...who I used to be?"
Sunghoon turned and disappeared around the side of the cabin before Sunoo could respond.
He knew.
Of course he knew.
—-------------------------------------
"You what?" Miyoung hisses. Sunoo sat in front of the heater, a random blanket wrapped around his shoulders.
"The bathroom window?" Hyerim laughs.
"Not funny, Hyerim...what if they caught something?" Miyoung grumbles, examining Sunoo's face. Sunghoon stood a few feet to the side, watching him with concern.
"I think...he's fine." Hyerim assures, looking more at Sunghoon than she was Miyoung.
"And now he's supposed to go in the cold again?" Miyoung asks, her eyes full of doubt.
"It's a different type of cold...A hoodie would be enough, seriously." Sunghoon says. Miyoung sighs and waves her hand.
"Fine, but we're keeping a close eye on you." she says. Sunghoon nods.
"I'm really okay...I swear." Sunoo finally speaks up, showing Miyoung his best pout face. Miyoung rolls her eyes.
"Don't use that face on me." She growls... but her eyes were soft and her lips twitched into a smile as she stepped away from them.
The staff members take the boys to the ice rink about thirty minutes later. Sunoo was right, it was in the large warehouse looking building. When they entered the building, Sunoo looked around in awe. He had been in one before, but the large nearly empty space always took his breath away.
Sunghoon was the same, old memories flooded back. Most of them were good...but there were some that he would rather forget.
It was too painful.
You piece of sh-
"It's not that cold." Sunoo says, Sunghoon looked over at him, thankful that the memory had been interrupted. Sungoon smiled and nodded.
"Still, if you feel anything at all, let one of us know so that we can remove you." A staff member voices. Sunoo sits down on one of the benches and makes an "ok" sign with his hand.
A staff member brings the skates over and Sunghoon puts them on with ease. Sunoo struggled a little bit, but managed to figure it out after watching Sunghoon. He held Sunghoon's arm tightly as they made their way over to the gate leading to the ice.
The staff started filming from various places, one of them handed Sunghoon a camera as he stepped onto the ice.
Sunoo hesitantly reached for Sunghoon as his feet shook beneath him. Sunghoon met him half way and grabbed his wrists so that they were facing each other.
"Don't look down at your feet, keep your eyes where you are going." Sunghoon says. Sunoo raised his eyes, meeting Sunghoon's.
Gosh...I haven't seen him like this in so long...
"Careful." Sunghoon pushes off slowly, going backwards so that Sunoo was moving forwards with him. Sunoo's legs wobbled but he kept his eyes forward, focusing on the small logo on Sunghoons jacket.
"You can trust me, Sunoo. I won't let you fall." Sunghoon says quietly. Sunoo meets his eye. Was there another meaning under the surface of his words?
Either way...they were comforting.
"I...can stand on my own now." Sunoo assures. Sunghoon backs away several feet, leaving Sunoo to stand in the middle alone. He's still shaky, but he's staying vertical.
Sunghoon pushes off and makes his way to the far side of the rink, before turning and going back towards Sunoo. He circles him several times, Sunoo simply watches quietly.
Sunghoon was elegant. His moves looked simple, but the tiny details were important. How far his arms lifted, the angle of his wrists, even the way his hair swayed back and forth with his movements. It was...precise.
Sunoo unknowingly smiles watching him. Not just because of his skill, but because...he's smiling. It's not that Sunghoon never smiled...but the ones like this one...they were different.
His eyes sparkled as he met Sunoo's eyes while passing him once again. Sunghoon's small laugh rang in Sunoo's ears. He blinked several times.
He...wanted to keep hearing that sound.
"Sunghoon!" A voice calls.
Sunghoon looks in the direction of the voice but can't see anything because of the lights. He came to a stop, his heartbeat was quickening.
"It's all wrong, Sunghoon. You're a fucking failu-"
"Hoon?" Sunoo calls, noticing how Sunghoon's face fell as he stared off into space. Sunghoon didn't react to his voice, he was in his own world.
"Come here, I'll teach you to do it right the first time."
"Please! Give me one more chance, don't do this!"
Sunoo saw the terror in Sunghoon's eyes as his breaths sped up, and his fingers went to his thighs. Sunoo willed his feet to move in his direction, almost slipping immediately.
"Put it on."
"Please..." Sunghoon's eyes were filled with tears and they spilled over his small cheeks as he shook his head, "don't make me do this again!"
But the answer was always the same.
Sunoo reached Sunghoon and grabbed his arm. Sunghoon jerked away from him, a flash of hatred was in his eyes before he realized who it was. Sunghoon looks back to where the voice came from but there was no one there.
He wasn't there.
"Hoon...what's wrong?" Sunoo asks gently, reaching for Sunghoon's arm again. Murmuring between the staff could be heard as cameras were turned off. Sunghoon took a deep breath and flattened his shaky hands against his legs.
"Nothing...I'm okay now." Sunghoon smiles.
"What...did you see?" Sunoo asks. Sunghoon stared down into his eyes. Part of him wanted to tell Sunoo everything.
The other part couldn't help but think that Sunoo should be the very last person to know.
"I...I'm cold." Sunghoon blurts. It's a lie, and both of them know it, but Sunghoon wasn't ready to talk about those memories yet. Sunghoon skated over to the door and quickly changed into his normal shoes.
"Was there enough content?" Sunghoon asks as a pair of familiar shoes enter his vision.
"No...but that's just what they'll have to work with. You need to rest before filming with the group." Miyoung says. Hyerim was nowhere to be found when Sunghoon raised his eyes.
"Okay."
Sunoo plopped down beside him and began undoing the skates. He watched Sunghoon but Sunghoon avoided his gaze. They sat in silence for several minutes before Sunghoon finally stood.
"I'm...going to get some fresh air." he says, and then leaves Sunoo behind without even glancing in his direction.
—------------------------------------
"Wonie." Heeseung says gently. Jungwon looks over at him. Heeseung nods his head in the opposite direction, signaling for Jungwon to meet him away from the rest of the members. Jungwon steps away and looks up at Heeseung.
"I...got a strange text earlier."
"What?"
"A strange text..." Heeseung repeats. He pulls out his phone and hands it over to Jungwon.
Unknown
All eyes on you, deer.
"A prank?" Jungwon suggests. He noticed the spelling of deer...it could be referring to Heeseung...or they would have just spelled it wrong.
"I'm...a little concerned." Heeseung admits.
"Is it serious? Should we tell Dohyun?" Jungwon asks. Heeseung stares down at his screen, studying the mysterious message.
"Yes, I think we should. Even if it's just a prank...it's better to be safe than sorry." Heeseung sighs. He turns his phone off and stuffs it in his pocket.
"Is there something else? You look like you're thinking about something..."
"It's just...Sunghoon and Sunoo...I know they can work it out. I trust them." Heeseung starts, "But you see the way Sunoo is acting now...glancing..."
"Yeah..." Jungwon nods and looks back at the other members, but they were still lost in their own conversation.
"What...do we do if they become something...more?" Heeseung asks. Jungwon sighs and puts his hands in his pockets.
"I don't know...I don't really want to think about it."
"We need to be prepared."
"For what?" Jungwon asks.
"Wonie...nothing is ever simple." Heeseung says quietly. Jungwon shrugs.
"But not everything needs to be difficult either."
Jungwon turns on his heel and walks back towards the group.
Truthfully, he was just as worried. His thoughts ran wild and caused a never ending dull headache.
He just didn't want Heeseung to know that.
A/N: No thoughts...empty brain...lack of sleep but here I am because i'm determined....
I only have 3 more chapters to write...🥲
I'm not ready for it to end...😭😭
Luckily it doesn't have to. 😉