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BANG CHAN wasn't totally sure what was going on.
honestly, things hadn't been too good lately. he maintained the perfect mask of health and happiness in front of others, but when he was alone....
let's just say it was a lot easier to pretend you're okay when other people were around.
he gazed out at the skyline, the straw from his now finished milk dangling from his lips as he chewed absentmindedly on one end. his heart felt heavy in his chest; the weight on his shoulders nearly unbearable. in a strange way, this feeling was normal. he'd been diagnosed with severe depression years ago, a fact that he hadn't shared with anyone outside his immediate family. he didn't want to ruin that perfect image his classmates had of him; strong and resilient chan, class president and a reliable shoulder to lean on. no one seemed to question whether sometimes chan needed a shoulder of his own.
"what are you doing up here, troublemaker?"
chan jumped slightly, head whipping around to see who had suddenly slapped a strong hand on his shoulder. he relaxed when he saw changbin's familiar face, a strand of long, dark hair that had escaped his bun hanging in front of his eyes.
"right, i'm the troublemaker", chan replied, rolling his eyes with an amused smile. changbin gasped, feigning hurt as he grasped at his chest.
"i am not a troublemaker. talk to jeongin if you're gonna throw words like that around."
chan guessed he considered changbin his best friend. he'd known him since they were in diapers. as long as he'd been alive, changbin had lived just down the street, one block away. he remembered every sleepover spent reading comics until late into the night, he remembered walking home from elementary school together to play video games at chan's house, he remembered chasing changbin's chickens around the yard and scraping his knees when he fell.
they hadn't been as close lately. in the past year, they had drifted apart. sometimes, changbin felt like a complete stranger.
he missed him.
"you okay?", changbin asked. chan snapped out of his daze, instantly masking the obvious distress on his face. changbin looked genuinely worried, the hand on his back becoming more gentle as his eyebrows creased.
"yeah, i'm okay. just tired", chan replied, trying to laugh a little to ease the tension. instead, he sounded strained, which only furthered changbin's worry.
"okay...", the werewolf replied. then, he brightened. "we haven't hung out in a while! you know you can come over whenever, right?"
chan smiled but inside he felt like he was breaking. "of course."
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song; when will i see you again by shakka