𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘂 || 𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗸

trente.

the next day, mark had to drag the sulking man from his room and managed to get him out of the dorm. everyone else was off doing their own thing, trying to savour their break as much as they can. mark had been invited to a small lunch get-together with his friends and so he decided to take yukhei with him. there was also someone he knew who had hinted of her interest towards his friend and he decided to take the opportunity to introduce him to someone so he could move on and stop sulking. it was weird seeing yukhei so down. mark had been accustomed to his loud remarks, lame jokes and overall hyper behaviour that it became off-putting to him when he saw how depressed and heartbroken wong yukhei had become. he wanted to see a smile on his best friend's face again.

"where are we even going, mark? i don't know your friends...and i'm exhausted. i want to stay in the dorms." yukhei groaned, his hands stuffed in his pockets. normally, he wouldn't have been opposed to going out and meeting new people. yukhei was outgoing like that but for the past few months, he didn't really felt like doing anything else besides drown himself in his work. it had become an outlet for him to forget about taeyong and lisa. it also kept him from messaging her or calling her.

"i can't just let you sulk all day, yukhei. you need to get out there and socialize." mark continued to drag the male by his arm.

the latter didn't bother to reply, letting the young rapper drag him to wherever they were going. he was now left to his thoughts— thoughts that were constantly gnawing at him and eating him up.

yukhei felt bad about not contacting her. it wasn't her fault she didn't like him back. she didn't know of his feelings either. she was free to date anyone she wanted to. she didn't belong to him and it was a harsh reality that hit the man like a truck.

'i'd rather have a friendship with her than nothing at all? what a joke, yukhei. you've reminded yourself of that over and over again yet you're not being a great friend to her now just because she doesn't like you in that way. some friend you are, huh?' he thought to himself. despite the realization, he still fought himself from sending her a message. lisa had messaged him a few times after his messages stopped coming...after he stopped replying. she had kept asking him if he was okay and if he was taking care of himself. she had spammed him of things she knew would cheer him up.

....until they stopped coming too.

yukhei would never blame her for it. it wasn't her fault. he hadn't responded to her messages at all. she was the type to not want to ever be a bother to someone. he knew he was probably making her feel like shit yet he can't bring himself to contact her and apologize. he regretted not telling her that night before he left for china.

'would things be different now if i did? would it be me instead of him?'

he almost laughed at himself for even assuming he could deserve someone like her. she needed someone more mature and responsible. someone who can make her laugh but also take good care of her. yukhei knew taeyong was the perfect guy for her. he was her ideal man. they were meant to be together.

it was their story and yukhei was just meant to be the second lead all along.

[A/N: Daaaamn. Look at me uploading so much. I just want to make it up to everyone for just disappearing for months. I'm still getting right back to writing again so I'm a little rough around the edges. But please let me know if you like how the story is going so far. I did plan for this to be full of angst and slow-burn but let me know what yall think. Also I kind of have mixed feelings with the title now so should i change it or keep it as it is? I have a few ideas in mind if i do change it but I'm not really creative when it comes to titles so pls help a girl out TT]