love you later | yeonbin ✓

023

Wooyoung was right. Soobin feels a lot better after he has taken a shower and slipped into some new clothes. Despite the delicious smell wafting through the house, he can't stop himself from looking into Yeonjun's room once more, just to make sure he's still asleep, before he walks down towards the kitchen.

Wooyoung and San are standing at the counter, chopping away, the pots and pans heating up on the stove. San is the first one to notice him when he steps into the room.

"Feeling better?" he asks, and there's something timid about him that warms Soobin's heart immediately.

"Oh hey," Wooyoung says with a bright smile as he turns around. "I hope you like egg bokkeumbap?"

"That's perfect," Soobin sighs as he pulls back a chair from the table and sinks down. He's so hungry he probably would have said yes to anything, but there's something about eggs and rice for breakfast that has always worked for him. "And yeah, I do feel better actually." He slumps over the table, presses the balls of his hands to his tired eyes. The persistent fatigue is not something the shower had been able to wash away. "It's been a long twenty-four hours."

"I can imagine," Wooyoung says over his shoulder, the pan sizzling in front of him, "Is this the first time you've seen magic?"

"Kind of, yeah. The last time Yeonjun cut someone else's string I wasn't in the room. I only saw the aftermath, how exhausted he was. But that was nothing compared to this." His voice grows somber, a little rough around the edges, which makes it hard to hide the fear that's still sitting under his skin. "I was prepared for the migraine and the exhaustion, but he just... collapsed. Fell right down to the floor in the middle of the ritual, and I couldn't even move to check in on him because he told me to stay put as long as the candles were burning."

Wooyoung only hums, back still turned towards Soobin and he's grateful for that little bit of privacy. His eyes have always betrayed him, have always let his real feelings bleed out for everyone to see even when he was trying his best to keep his composure.

He takes a shuddering breath and says, "Anyway, I'm really grateful you were able to come. I wouldn't have known what to do."

Wooyoung sends him a soft smile across the room. "Of course. I'm glad you called, you did the right thing. And I promise we'll have him back on his feet in no time once he wakes up."

Soobin tries to smile back at him, feels the strain of pulling his lips up into a smile and if the frown on Wooyoung's forehead is anything to go by, he must not be very convincing. "So, how do you know Yeonjun?"

"He hasn't told you?" When Soobin shakes his head, Wooyoung explains. "He used to live with me. My family took him in when we were younger. He lost his family. My parents don't have any magical abilities but they helped me get the best education they could find. And then I met Yeonjun, kind of took him under my wing. He had a difficult childhood... never really learned how to control and use his magic, was scared of it more than anything else. Took some time, but he obviously got the hang of it. We've been friends ever since."

It's not a sad story, not really. But Soobin can't help the ache spreading through his chest at the thought of a young Yeonjun all alone, no one there to help him figure out how to work with the magic sitting in the tips of his fingers. It puts things into perspective for him, all the little tidbits Yeonjun had let slip about his past in the time Soobin has gotten to know him. He swallows heavily, opens his mouth but no words come out. He doesn't know what to say, can't seem to find the right words.

"Telling my life story for me, Wooyoung?"

Soobin's head snaps around so fast it hurts. His heart is thundering in his chest at the sight of a clearly still exhausted Yeonjun leaning against the door frame in day-old, wrinkled clothes, a soft smile on his lips despite the edge to his voice. Soobin jumps up, the chair toppling to the floor in his haste to get to Yeonjun.