Hybe-topia

80 - Jung Hoseok

Imagine you're in the living room, browsing through Netflix to find a good show or movie to watch. While your thumb is mindlessly clicking the remote, your eyes wander over to the nearest clock to glance at the time.

7:02 PM

A small frown settles on your lips and your brows pinch together in a mixture of worry and suspicion. Your husband, whom you have been married to for three years now, has been arriving home from work later than normal for the past two weeks. He has also been acting extremely distant which concerns you because Hoseok has always been a very affectionate man, taking whatever chance he got to be with you.

Finally, there's a small tell-tale click of the front door unlocking before it opens to reveal your tired-looking husband.

"Hi, honey," you greet him, offering a small smile. However, your words fall deaf to his ears as he toes off his shoes and walks right past you, up the stairs to your shared bedroom. There's no denying the sharp flashes of hurt and betrayal striking right at your heart when you hear the shower turn on. Where did it all go wrong? Was it something you said or did? Or maybe the lack thereof?

Instead of allowing yourself to brew in your inner thoughts, you turn off the television before heading upstairs. Your feet guide you to Hoseok's office as he normally isolates himself in this small yet cozy room after he's freshened up. You're determined to talk to him tonight to figure out what exactly is going on between the two of you.

When you enter the room, you're taken aback by the state of its disorganization. There's a small collection of empty water glasses on his desk and the papers are strewn all over the room - almost as if a toddler had a temper tantrum. Hoseok is normally a well-kept man. Granted, he does have his moments, especially when he is busier at work, where things can become quite hectic. However, for the most part, his spaces are always clean.

While your husband is still in the shower, you decide to clean up a bit, picking up and organizing the papers into appropriate piles before neatly placing them on his desk. You then tackle to empty glasses and bring them downstairs to set on the kitchen counter where you will wash them later. Just as you're finishing up and the room is beginning to look like its original state, you notice a crumpled piece of paper lying next to the trash can - almost like it was a missed shot.

Curiosity gets the best of you and you hesitantly uncrumple the paper to catch a glimpse of what's inside. However, you instantly wish you hadn't the moment your eyes read over the text on the page. Your gut sinks and tears instantly pool in your eyes as you read over the test results of your husband's recent health examination.

"Oh, Hoseok," you whisper almost longingly. Your heart aches when you imagine how long he has been dealing with this all on his own and you can't even begin to fathom how overwhelming this must have been for him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." You startle at Hoseok's soft voice coming from the doorway. When you spin around, you see your husband watching you sadly with tears also pooling in his eyes. He then looks down and takes in a shaky breath, looking so ashamed of himself. "I was just so-"

"No," you instantly cut him off, making your way over to him to embrace him in the best hug you can offer. "You don't need to apologize, Hobi. I can't even imagine how hard this has been on you and you had every right to wait to tell me once you were ready."

"You aren't mad that I hid it from you?" he finally cracks, allowing his tears to roll down his cheeks as he returns your embrace and buries his face in the crook of your neck.

"No, never. Admittedly, I wasn't happy when you had become distant but that's because I had assumed something else was going on. But now that I know, I could never be mad at you, my love," you reassure him, pulling back slightly to give him a kiss on his tear-stained cheek. "Remember our vows? In sickness and in health. I meant every single word of that. You're going to get through this. We'll get through this together." 

♡ ♡ ♡

Happy Monday, Dalgis! Here's this week's Hobi imagine. I know it's not exactly the happiest of tropes but I wanted to challenge myself by writing something that's not as always optimistic. Hope y'all enjoyed it nonetheless! 

I hope you're all staying safe, happy, and healthy! I love you so much 💗

Until next week,
Strawberheecake 🍓