stigma [ yeonbin ]

xxxv

Choi Yeonjun, to put it lightly, was down bad.

A few days had passed since the incident at school, and they'd been given the week off while the city attempted to fix the damages done on the roads.

Soobin and Yeji had gone home the morning after they'd spent the night... which was good for them, but most importantly meant this:

He hadn't seen Choi Soobin in over 72 hours.

It was honestly depressing, and his groupchat of best friends were brutally making fun of him on video call.

"Jesus, Yeonjun," his friend Beomgyu's voice came through his phone, seeing the demon huddled up in his blankets, sitting in his dark bedroom.
"You're so dramatic, just text him or something."

"It's not the sameee," whined Yeonjun, covering his face with his hoodie in shame. Actually, it wasn't even his— it was Soobin's hoodie, which Yeonjun had secretly stolen from him before he left.
He'd been wearing it for three days now. In a row.

"Bro, not even joking," Taehyun spoke through the phone, "you need help."

"No," Yeonjun retorted, turning on his camera and flipping off the rest of the group on the call.

"This guy! If you think Yeonjun is a simp say 'aye'," Kai joked on screen, followed by a chorus of the two other boys saying "aye" in response.

"You know, Jun, we're still hanging out on Lupercalia Day right? You can invite Soobin to come with us," Taehyun suggested, watching Yeonjun sit up immediately in his bed in surprise.

"No," Yeonjun immediately responded. "That is such a bad idea. I'm not getting him involved with demon shit."

"He's already involved with you," Kai snorted despite a glare from his friend.

"Come onnn, Yeonjun, it's a holiday! How bad could it be?" Beomgyu argued helpfully.

Yeonjun only huffed in response.
He'd always lowkey hated the holiday of Lupercalia, because to him, it felt like an off-brand, pointless, couples' festival that was just an excuse for demons to get drunk and make out on the streets everywhere.

Not to mention, it was a demon only holiday, which made him slightly cringe even celebrating it openly.

"Come on, Jun, it's basically like Valentine's Day! Ask him to be your date for the night," Kai urged him with a slight teasing in his tone.

"No!!!" Yeonjun shot back instantly, a little flushed. "He wouldn't even know what the holiday is."

"So? Explain it to him," Kai retorted.

Yeonjun only rolled his eyes, leaning over to switch on the lamp in his room. He adjusted his hair as he looked in the camera, trying to make himself presentable.

"Yeonjun just doesn't have the balls to tell Soobin he likes him, that's why," Kai mocked, making the boy in question let out a loud whine in return.

"Nah man, Soobin already knows. Jun is just being a wet blanket for no reason," Beomgyu only added fuel to the fire.