my sweetest love // bnd hyeokmyungz

10. "bye, jaehyun."

"You've been sneaking that boy in here, haven't you?"

Sanghyeok remained silent, keeping his gaze locked to the floor. He couldn't bear to look up at his father - if they made eye contact, he might cry. "..."

"Tell me... were you sneaking that stupid Myung Jaehyun into my house?!"

"... n-no..."

Sanghyeok felt a firm hit against the side of his head, but he still couldn't look up at his father. "What is he, huh? Your boyfriend? What did I tell you about having boyfriends, huh?" He hit him again. "You little bastard, I should have disciplined you when you were young. Maybe you would've been into women-"

"Hongjae, that's enough." Even his mother couldn't intervene. "Just let him go up to his room."

"I'm not done talking to him," his father snapped. "I know you're dating him, you little bastard. Just be honest and tell me how long it's been. How many times did you bring that fucking child into my house?!"

"Jaehyun's my friend..."

"Friend?! You're lying to your fath-?!"

"Hongjae, no!"

•

Jaehyun sat quietly at the usual lunch table inside the park, staring down at the unread messages from Sanghyeok. The last message he had sent was a confirmation that he would meet Jaehyun at the skate park the following day - yet no Sanghyeok arrived at the park. It was nearly 7pm and Jaehyun's shift would be ending soon, but there was no sign of Sanghyeok. Of course, this caused Jaehyun to grow more worried.

"See you tomorrow, kid."

Yongguk left Jaehyun to walk home. Although the other smiled, Jaehyun was extremely worried about his boyfriend who hadn't texted him all day. Jaehyun dialled Sanghyeok's number, holding his phone to his ear quietly as he waited for the other to answer. No response. Jaehyun sighed, locking his phone when it went straight to voicemail.

"Maybe I should just get him at home."

Jaehyun didn't enjoy overthinking - oftentimes, due to overprocessing situations, he tended to misunderstand things, so he preferred not thinking too deeply about situations. However, Sanghyeok was his partner - if anything went wrong with him, Jaehyun would probably cry for a long time. He eventually made his way home, but the lights in Sanghyeok's bedroom weren't even turned on by the time he got there.

Jaehyun took his phone out, dialling Sanghyeok's number again as he stared at the window. To his surprise, the call actually connected. "Sanghyeo-"

"We need to break up."

Jaehyun paused for a moment, widening his eyes in shocked silence. "W... what? No, what are you talking abou-"

"I'm serious, Jaehyun. Break up with me."

"Sanghyeok, what the actual fuck are you on about...?! You can't tell me to break up with you - I love y-"

"Well, I don't love you. I can't love you. I can't be with you."

"Sanghyeok, we got together a week ago, how can I just leave you?"

"Wasn't a week enough for you? Just let me go, please. I don't love you, I've never loved you, and I'll never love you. If you want what's best for you, just let me go."

"I'm not fucking breaking up with you, Sanghyeok!"

"Well, then, I'll break up with you. Just... stop trying to see me. It's over, so don't even try to come see me."

"You can't be serious, right?" Jaehyun didn't even realise he had tears in his eyes, blinking quickly as he let out a disbelieving laugh. "Sanghyeok, come on. Stop joking around."

"... bye, Jaehyun."

Sanghyeok ended the call, and Jaehyun could only stare at Sanghyeok's darkened bedroom window in silence. He finally broke down, lowering his head in pain as his heart clenched in his chest. He felt worse than he had ever felt in his entire life. Why would Sanghyeok break up with him? They got together just over a week before. Jaehyun didn't want to overthink it, but he desperately wanted to make sense of the situation.

"... has Sanghyeok ever loved me...?"

•

Yongguk glanced down at the time on the computer, raising an eyebrow as he realised that Jaehyun was supposed to be in over an hour ago. "Where's that kid...?"

"Who?"

Yongguk sighed as he stood up, stuffing his phone into his pocket. "Jaehyun's lucky I value him so much. Yeojin, just watch the counter for me. Don't process any sales - just tell the customers I'll be back within half an hour."

"Where are you going?" the girl beside him asked with a frown.

"I'm just gonna check on Jaehyun - maybe he's sick," Yongguk replied. "I take care of my staff, Yeojin. Jaehyun's probably my favourite, so I gotta take care of the kid. If my brother comes while I'm not here, tell him to wait here."

Yongguk drove quickly down to Jaehyun's neighbourhood, as he had done a few times before, stopping right outside Jaehyun's house before. It still felt awkward visiting, despite being Jaehyun's boss. He sighed, walking up to the front door and gently knocking on the door. After a few moments, an elderly woman opened the door, smiling brightly. "Yes, he- oh my, it's Yonggukie!"

Yongguk laughed as the woman hugged him, leaning down to return the embrace. "Hello, Mrs Myung - it's been a while since I saw you."

"Oh, it's so nice to see you," Mrs Myung smiled, patting his arm as he entered. "Come, come, we can talk inside. Are you visiting because of Jaehyun or Jaerin?"

Yongguk paused for a moment before shaking his head. "No, uhm... Jaehyun's supposed to be in today, but he's over an hour late. Is he sick, or...?"

"Oh, my poor boy," Mrs Myung sighed, clasping her hands together. "He's been very upset these past three days - he has barely eaten, either. Oh, I hate seeing him in this sad state."

"Why, what happened to him?"

"Jaehyun's boyfriend broke up with him."

Yongguk paused in shock. He cleared his throat as he began taking his shoes off. "Uhm, is it okay if I head upstairs to talk to him?"

"Yes, by all means, my dear," Mrs Myung urged. "Please talk some sense into him. It's been three days and he still hasn't done anything worth anything. I'm very worried, and he's not listening to me."

Yongguk nodded, bowing as he stepped into the house. "I remember his room. I'll be down in a moment."