𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐄

#.. SIX

"oh, hi, boys!" hyeongjun heard his mother speak from downstairs. they arrived, why didn't he hear the bell ring?

rushing down (having to pause multiple times because otherwise he'd faint), he saw gunil and his friends taking off their shoes before walking inside.

"jun, what's up?" gunil chuckled as he came closer and indicated a fist bump, with whose hyeongjun was okay with.

bumping their fists together, hyeongjun then walked over to seungmin and jooyeon. "so lovely to see you!" he smiled, forcing himself to hug the two, feeling an uncomfortable pricking in his skin he tried to ignore.

guiding all of them in a room, he inconspicuously shoved his scale underneath his bed once he sat down on it, using his foot.

"you can sit on my bed, that's fine" hyeongjun smiled once he noticed how stiffly seungmin and jooyeon were standing, while gunil immediately claimed his place on the little hammock.

while seungmin sat down on his chair, jooyeon decided to sit down next to hyeongjun.

"oh my god, how clumsy to forget!" hyeongjun suddenly remembered, smiling. "do you guys want something to snack?"

before any of them was able to answer, he walked over to his shelf and opened a drawer, revealing many kinds of candy.

throwing most of them on the bed, he sat down on his original place again. "help yourselves!" his smile never died down, though his gaze was stuck on the backside of the gummy package, looking at the nutritions.

jooyeon noticed this, sighing. "hyeongjun, do you want us to eat those because you're trying to be polite or just because you're scared you'll lose control and eat those?"

hyeongjun's smile died down. it was scary, as if jooyeon read his mind. yet he tried to play it off.

"of course i'm not scared. i'm recovered!" he exclaimed, trying to force a smile as he opened that exact gummy bear package, stuffing his mouth with a handful of the colorful sweets.

gunil looked at hyeongjun, concerned. he knew how this would end. why did jooyeon say this?

the reaction was the angel's confirmation of his thoughts - hyeongjun had a disordered relationship with food.

"they're so good, want some too?" the boy asked, smiling with his cheeks puffed as he practically shoved them in jooyeon's hands. "imma go and use the toilet real quick!"

hyeongjun dashed out of the door, not caring how weird or suspicious that was. he was just scared of his body digesting what he just consumed.

not locking the bathroom door, he didn't take long to bend over the toilet, shoving his fingers down his throat to make himself vomit.

he was excellent at that trick, having used it multiple times. having learned it from a bulimic boy at the clinic, hyeongjun was devoting his life to him.

in a matter of seconds hyeongjun was purging. he did not care about how loud he was, he did not care about how the door slowly opened. all he wanted was to finally get all the remains out of his body.

someone kneeled down next to him, brushing his hair out of his face before holding it tightly behind him.

it wasn't gunil. so it must be jooyeon. it could be seungmin but if it really was him, then the atmosphere would be different.

also he still remembered jooyeon's perfume - the one that he smelled in his dream. and the person next to him had exact that odor.

"didn't mean to trigger you..." yes, jooyeon. hyeongjun didn't answer, leaning his elbows on the toilet seat as he let out a frustrated cry.

he cushioned his face in his hands. was it because of embarrassment or because he just didn't want to look at jooyeon!

the younger gently pat his back, comfortingly and soft. he wasn't rushing hyeongjun to do or say anything.

jooyeon just waited for hyeongjun to relax. his hands gently wrapped around hyeongjun's arms, figuring that his elbows must hurt.

instead, he pulled him into a hug. it stayed silent between them, jooyeon just gave hyeongjun an opportunity to cry.

it started out of nowhere, but jooyeon didn't judge. his guardian instincts peaked, so he pulled the elder closer to his body.

suddenly it did not matter how much hyeongjun disliked jooyeon before. he just felt so... safe?

like he could seek shelter in his arms whenever he needed to. hyeongjun was so thankful that jooyeon didn't want any further explanation to what just happened.

jooyeon just let him be himself, and hyeongjun found comfort in it.

yet he did not expect to fall asleep in his arms.