please, don't hang up | nyukyu

you kept picking up

it was a tuesday when changmin realized the calls had become part of his routine.

he wasn't sure when it started— maybe after the third one, or maybe when he caught himself checking his phone every night before bed, waiting for it to ring. he'd never admit that out loud. but it was true.

some nights they talked about nothing. memes. dumb hypotheticals. what if the moon was a hologram. whether cereal counted as soup. other nights were quieter. shared silence, the kind that didn't feel awkward. just... mutual.

he liked those calls more than he thought he would. liked the sound of chanhee's voice: half bored, half amused. liked how he said changmin's name like it wasn't a big deal. like it wasn't something fragile.

"you always answer on the second ring," chanhee pointed out one night.

"do not pretend you're keeping track."

"maybe i am. maybe i've got a spreadsheet."

"you're ridiculous."

"i'm detailed."

they were both lying in bed, phones on pillows. no video. just voices in the dark.

"how was work?" changmin asked.

"bad. some guy asked if i was born looking this tired."

"were you?"

"i told him no, it took years of practice."

"nice."

"my boss did not think so."

changmin laughed quietly. "and you wonder why they're always passive-aggressively scheduling you on weekends."

"you say that like it isn't intentional."

"you like working weekends?"

"i like avoiding people."

"wow," changmin said. "relatable."

a pause.

then, unprompted: "i forgot to eat today."

"what?"

"had cereal at 11 a.m. and then nothing else."

"changmin."

"what?"

"you have to eat actual meals."

"says the guy who had a black coffee and half a granola bar for dinner yesterday."

"...i don't like being perceived."

"you're lucky i'm too tired to lecture you."

"you just did."

"shut up."

they were both quiet after that, but not in a bad way.

changmin could hear the soft hum of a fan on chanhee's end. maybe his breathing too, steady and faint. the idea of it— being connected like this— felt strange. soft. he tried not to think about it too much.

"can i ask you something?" he said.

"sure."

"why'd you call back?"

chanhee was quiet for a few seconds longer than expected.

"because you were the first person in a while who made me forget how shit things felt," he said eventually. "even if it was only for an hour."

changmin blinked.

"oh," he said.

"yeah."

"well. i'm glad."

"me too."

the silence this time settled in gently. like it belonged there.

"do you ever get lonely?" chanhee asked suddenly, voice softer than before.

"yeah," changmin admitted. "a lot, actually."

"me too."

"you don't sound surprised."

"i'm not. you talk like someone who spends most of the day thinking instead of speaking."

changmin snorted. "that's a weird insult."

"it's a compliment."

"sure."

"no really," chanhee said. "you talk like someone who wants to be heard. that's not a bad thing."

changmin didn't know how to respond to that, so he just smiled into the darkness.

they stayed on the line for a long time. maybe an hour. maybe more. no real conversation. just moments, drifting in and out of words.

before they hung up, chanhee said quietly, "don't disappear again."

"i wasn't planning to," changmin said.

"good."

and then, after a beat, "me neither."

—

the calls didn't stop after that.

they didn't always talk long. sometimes it was five minutes. sometimes it was three hours. sometimes they'd just sit there doing completely different things, connected by the open line.

changmin once fell asleep during a call. woke up to the sound of his phone buzzing against his pillow.

chanhee [01:42]
you snored
don't deny it
but goodnight i guess

he replied half-asleep:

changmin [01:44]
rude
but also... thx
goodnight scammer

the next day, he smiled at his phone like an idiot for twenty minutes and didn't tell anyone why.

—

one rainy night, changmin didn't call first.

he wasn't in the mood to talk. his day had been exhausting: exams, errands, a sudden panic attack in the grocery store for no reason he could explain. he wanted to curl up and disappear for a bit.

but his phone buzzed at 10:11 p.m.

chanhee [22:11]
it's weird not hearing from you today
everything okay?

he stared at the message for a minute before answering.

changmin [22:13]
just tired
today kinda sucked
sorry

chanhee [22:14]
don't be
wanna call anyway?
we don't have to talk

changmin didn't hesitate.

he pressed call.