Faded Sun| SunSun

[Chapter 22]

"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!" Jake shouted, frantically running over to the oven. The door pulled open, to the sound of the smoke alarm. Jake's face was slapped with a layer of heated fog, which he swiped out of his face, dragging out the charcoal coated potatoes. 

As his disappointed face looked down on that disastrous attempt at cooking, a laugh rang through his kitchen.

"I don't think I've ever had an Easter dinner this tragic." Riki chuckled, finding this whole ordeal amusing to watch. 

Not so amused, Jake shook the potatoes into the food waste. "You be quiet for now, I'll bring it back. Maybe we won't have any roast potatoes, but I'll make some mash, so that we at least have something." 

Jake swiftly got to work peeling a whole new set of potatoes, getting them on the boil as soon as possible. This wasn't as nearly entertaining to watch, so Riki went back over to the couch.

"You shouldn't give him a hard time, he's doing something nice for us." Sunoo said, handing him a switch controller.

"Okay." Riki shrugged, a smirk creeping onto his face. "I'll just give you a hard time in Mario Kart instead, prepared to get your ass beat."

"Huh we'll see about that."

It had been a rough week for Sunoo, his impending break up sucking the life out of him. No matter what he did to distract himself, he always ended up crying. He put on a strong face during his debut shoots, but come home and weep into his pillow.

Putting a side his devastation, he couldn't decline this invite from Jake. It was Easter after all, a time he'd usually spend with his mum and Mi-Sun. He obviously didn't go home for the break, which wasn't helping his overwhelming sadness. He was glad not to be spending it alone, he was thankful for Jake and Riki.

"You guys can come to the table now, I'm gonna dish up." Jake called from the kitchen.

The boys paused their game happily, wandering over to the small, four-seater table. They became instantly aware of the abnormality in the table settings, as there was one more plate than they were expecting. Just before they could ask about it, there was a knock at the door.

Both boys looked to Jake, who's face showed clear nerves. "Don't hate me please." He muttered, pulling open the door. 

A mix of shock, confusion, and anger washed over them, seeing Jake's final guest arrive.

"I think we should talk before dinner." Heeseung said, glancing to Jake. "Can you give us a minute?"

"Oh um, I've still gotta look after the food." Jake mumbled out, awkwardly scratching his neck. "You could talk in Riki's room."

Heeseung nodded. "Alright. I understand that you guys don't want to talk to me, but we need to do it eventually. There are some things I have to say, and I'd appreciate if you guys heard me out."

"I don't care what you have to say, just fuck off!" Riki shouted, causing the boy beside him to flinch. He muttered a sorry to Sunoo, feeling the boy grab his hand. 

Sunoo wore the softest smile, almost in acceptance of Heeseung's pleas. This wasn't only for Heeseung, they all needed this talk. Whether it be to fix everything, or to wrap up their years of friendship for good, it was vital that they got everything out in the open. 

"We need to do this."

____

The divide was clear, Sunoo and Riki sitting at one end of the bed, and Heeseung at the other. A thin silence draped the room, only the sound of Riki's fidgeting making noise, from how the bed moved and creaked. 

Heeseung turned to his friends. His heart heavy, observing how Sunoo's head was hanging low, and the visible anger his presence caused Riki. He never imagined an argument could get this bad, though the weeks of pent up frustration, had a big part in that. 

The silence broke, as Heeseung cleared his throat. "I want to thank you guys for letting me speak to you, I know this isn't easy for either of you. I guess there's two big things I need to address, so I'll just start with the one that I should explain, since I didn't handle it very well the other day." He started, more composed than he assumed he'd be.

This was really important to him, he didn't want to be misunderstood this time. 

"I said it wasn't a big issue, and you were right for calling me out on that Riki. I used things you were going through against Mi-Sun, which was incredibly wrong and stupid. I'm sorry Sunoo, it's something I would never do again."

Neither boy looked at him, which wasn't giving him the most hope. He didn't need immediate forgiveness, he just needed them to understand. 

"Secondly, I don't want you guys thinking, for even a minute, that I don't care about you." Heeseung sighed, his frustration coming through. Just the idea that his friends would think something like that, hurt him to his core. "This whole thing with Jungwon has been so misconstrued, of course I'm upset about Jungwon, and of course I want him to debut with us. It may have been insensitive, but if I get upset and angry, will that make you feel any better? You look to me when these things happen, I want to be strong for you."

The room fell back into that heavy silence.

"I didn't realize..." Sunoo choked out, and only then did Heeseung notice he was crying.

There was an instant urge to comfort his friend, but Heeseung wasn't sure if that's what Sunoo wanted from him. Instead he chose to keep his distance, "Please don't cry."

"But I've been thinking you're this bad guy, when you're really trying to protect us." Sunoo added, now facing Heeseung, he could really see how much this was affecting him.

"You're my family, and family looks out for each other." He couldn't stop himself now, he wanted to take the risk, and reach out to Sunoo. Something small, something simple. Just a hand laying along the sheets, waiting to be held.

It took a second,

And some slight hesitation,

But Sunoo took his hand.

"I love you guys more than anything, I need you to know that. Life's gonna get much harder with this debut, but we have each other, and that's an insanely precious thing. Even if you don't want anything to do with me, I'll still be looking out for you." 

Small sniffles escaped Sunoo, as he did his best to put on a smile. "It's alright, lets just put this behind us. I really appreciate your apology, thank you for doing this."

"Thank you for hearing me out."

The two boys smiled at each other, through the pain, through the stress, and through the sadness. It could all be pushed aside. As long as they had each other, it could never destroy them.

A sudden movement, caused both boys to dart their eyes to Riki. He stood up, without saying a word, and didn't move an inch for a few seconds. Thinking about it, he hadn't said a single word this whole time. Was he angry? they couldn't tell. He turned to the door, walking past Sunoo, making them both think he was about to leave.

Though, he didn't. 

Riki stood in front of Heeseung, staring, before lunging towards him. Heeseung slightly flinched, assuming he was about to be punched, or something. But instead, surprisingly, he felt two arms wrap around him.

"Stop being an asshole, okay?"