Three Hearts || Woosanhwa au

03| Cup Of Coffee

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It was the middle of the week and Seonghwa was tired. Exhausted. A barely functioning human being at this stage as he dragged himself over to the vending machine. The options were an array of junk food and he could hear the lecture from his best friend before he saw him.

"Forget your lunch again, hyung?" a sweet voice asked from behind him.

Seonghwa glanced at the younger male. Blonde hair, warm brown eyes, and a knowing smile on his pink lips. A sculptured goddess in many people's eyes but in Seonghwa's eyes he was just someone who knew him all too well. And someone who often got lost in his own head. Kang Yeosang. Another registered nurse at the hospital Seonghwa worked at. 

A coincidence? Definitely not. 

The blonde pretty much attached himself to Seonghwa's side ever since the two met and became friends in high school. Where one went the other followed. Simple as that.

"Mm, I was too lazy to cook this morning," Seonghwa admitted.

"You need to take better care of yourself, Hwa," Yeosang said. "You're always skipping meals, not eating enough protein, and not getting enough sleep."

"Don't nag me too," Seonghwa sighed.

Yeosang didn't say anything more but rolled his eyes. What was the use? He never listened anyway. Seonghwa was a nurse. He knew the limits to his health better than anyone, right? At least Yeosang had hoped so. He didn't need or want to stick an IV drip in his best friend's arm and submit him to forced bed rest.

So instead, he picked up the half-empty coffee pot and poured himself a lousy cup of black coffee. He filled the mug almost to its limit before pressing down the button to start a new batch. Because believe it or not a hospital was run purely on overdoses of bad caffeine and lack of sleep.

"How many cups today?" Yeosang asked.

Seonghwa looked away after pushing the vending machine number for honey chocolate cookies.

"Four," he replied.

"Okay, another one shouldn't do too much damage," Yeosang shrugged as he picked another mug up from the counter and filled it to the brim. "You look like shit, hyung. You need as much sugar and caffeine as you can get before you fall asleep on your patients."

"Thanks, Yeosangie," Seonghwa retorted.

"Only being honest."

He bent down and grabbed the packet of honey chocolate cookies that fell. The two found a table together as Yeosang set the coffees down for him and Seonghwa. It was a short break between back-to-back calls. A few seconds to sit and just breathe. Oh, and of course chat about the latest happenings of their lives that each other had missed out on.

"I didn't realize you were coming back today," Seonghwa commented. "How was it? How are you feeling?"

Yeosang held his arms out.

"Good as new," he said. "I only needed the weekend with Yunho around."

"Right, I kind of forgot about that," Seonghwa sheepishly smiled at the blonde.

Yeosang took another sip from his mug, humming as the taste met his tongue. "It's easy to forget when you aren't the one going through a heat every month." Heats and ruts were for omegas and alphas, not betas and Seonghwa happened to be the latter. "You're lucky, to be honest."

"Really?" Seonghwa decided to humor him. "And why is that?"

"You don't have to take leave every month to deal with something so... trivial," Yeosang complained.

"Cycles are important, Yeosangie. We both know that," Seonghwa reminded him.

"Yeah, sure until you're laying in a mess of your own cum and sweat, no energy to even shower." Yeosang leaned back in his chair with a huff. "At least now, with Yunho around, I don't have to walk my own sorry ass to the bathroom."

"Sounds like a keeper," Seonghwa teased.

Yeosang smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "If only he felt the same way."

"Oh, come on, I'm sure he does," Seonghwa tried to encourage, knowing all too well the story between them.

Relationships were already hard enough for people like them, always at the beck and call of someone else. Yunho appearing in Yeosang's life had felt like a fleeting thing, at least that's what Yeosang had said. And in some ways he was right. Jeong Yunho was infamous for coming and going at times that worked for him, the only exception being Yeosang's heat. He was his most attentive then, his alpha surfacing as he helped the omega in distress.

Seonghwa knew Yeosang loved Yunho, but the conversation of mates was never brought up. The beta could sympathize with the omega. Yunho couldn't possibly get anything more out of Yeosang besides sex when his life revolved around saving others. At least, that was what Yeosang kept telling himself repeatedly.

Those two were just... well, complicated.

There was a lack of communication going on but that was to be expected. It wasn't exactly something that either of them signed up for. More like dumped on or thrust upon out of the blue. They didn't have a choice in the matter.

Seonghwa empathized with both of them, having heard the story from both sides more than a few times already. He couldn't say who was right or who was wrong. Neither of them were but they were still Seonghwa's best friends and he refused to choose sides. He'd lend an ear, listening to Yeosang's problems and concerns before doing the same for Yunho. Seonghwa would try and give the two some friendly advice but that's all he could really do.

He never wanted to get fully involved. It was only asking for trouble.

Because in the end, their conversation never came to a full close.

And a beep reminded the two of where they were and both glanced down at the pagers attached to their hips.

"That's me," Yeosang took one last sip of his coffee. "I'll catch you later, hyung," he said before rushing off to tend to another patient.

Seonghwa stayed behind in the breakroom, honey chocolate cookies finished and the exhaustion of the day catching up on him. He wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep but refused to as he got up and went to check on his last few patients for the day.