Gateway [ONF FF]

Lost for letters

The house was in a covered uproar. The maids ran around the rooms and many came back from random errands. Seungjun stopped keeping track of them and stopped mapping out their routes and schedules. He couldn't see a reason for it anymore. They all just came and went as they did, surprising Seungjun with their presence or absence.

Changyun got busy discussing what to do with Jaeyoung and the tasks he had gotten from the other side, so Seungjun just remained in the living room, grabbing a book as per usual and staring at the words, absorbing none. The ink seemed to be floating from the paper, dancing around to create entertainment for his dissociating mind. He had noticed small changes in the rooms, like how some books had disappeared from the bookshelves, or how the curtains remained closed for longer, but Seungjun couldn't be bothered to register them further than a passing thought.

Noon showed itself before he knew it and evening calmed the staff down again. Seungjun ate what he was offered and nodded to suggestions, never reacting more than absolutely needed.

Most of the day, Jaeyoung remained in the medical room or alongside Changyun for meetings, but one day when the dying sun took productivity with it, he sought out his General in the living room.

"Hey, how are you?" he asked, oddly cheerful, most likely trying to keep the air clear. But a horrendous taste seeped along Seungjun's teeth and he hated having to open his mouth to speak.

"Fine."

Jaeyoung sat on a sofa chair close to him on the other side of a coffee table. "How have you been holding up?"

"Fine."

"I didn't expect it to be you in that dress," Jaeyoung laughed awkwardly to break the atmosphere.

"Understandable," Seungjun hummed back, crossing his legs and flipping to the next page.

Soft tapping told Seungjun that his neighbour was growing nervous. A part of him wanted to let Jaeyoung sit in that distraught state, but his old care for a friend won.

"Jaeyoung, it's fine, really," he said. "I understand why you did it."

"But I can tell that you're mad," Jaeyoung mumbled.

"There is nothing that can be done now," Seungjun argued flatly. "You're doing well trying to end this."

Jaeyoung clearly didn't trust the statement but dropped it and tried to go for something lighter. "What have you been up to so far?"

Even though the intention was well meant, Seungjun felt mocked by the question. "Trying to escape, of course. I nearly managed, too. But they've been keeping a good eye on me."

"They are quite good here," Jaeyoung hummed. "I'm glad they kept you alive."

Seungjun didn't respond further to the idle chit-chat and flipped to another page, even though he had read nothing of the previous.

"How did they find you?" Jaeyoung continued anyway. "Did they capture you?"

"Changyun told you already, didn't he?"

"I wanted to hear it from you too..."

Seungjun sighed and stayed brief. "I was wounded and they found me. My wounds made me unable to fight back so I was taken." He looked up. "I might've died otherwise, so there is at least one positive outcome to this."

"That's... true," the other nodded. "And they seem to be treating you well." A small laugh left him. "You have at least been getting along well with Changyun..."

"I haven't," Seungjun answered, his outward appearance giving away nothing of the aggressive chaos starting within him. But even if it did, Jaeyoung seemed too busy trying to find proper words.