Not Her || HAOBIN

~ Youth in the Shade ~

Ricky sat hunched over his laptop, the dim light of his university dorm room casting long shadows across the room. The screen was filled with dense text, an assignment that he had been wrestling with for hours. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, but his mind was elsewhere, lost in thought. The room was silent except for the occasional tapping of keys and the hum of his desk fan.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed on the desk beside him, the sound breaking the silence and drawing his attention away from his work. He glanced at the screen, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the notification. The word "Boyfriend" appeared on the screen, followed by a blue heart emoji. Ricky's lips curled into a soft smile, his eyes lingering on the notification before he reached for his phone. The wallpaper, a goofy picture of him and Gyuvin making silly faces, only deepened his smile.

He unlocked the phone and quickly opened the message. It was from Jiwoong, who had texted him a simple, "Hey, what's up?"

Ricky leaned back in his chair, momentarily forgetting about his assignment as he began typing out a response. "Hey Jiwoong! Just working on this killer uni assignment. What about you?"

It didn't take long for a reply to come in. "Can I call you? I need to talk."

Ricky's smile widened, feeling a little flutter of excitement in his chest. He loved talking to Jiwoong, especially when it was about something important. He quickly typed back, "Sure, call away!"

Within seconds, his phone rang. Ricky didn't hesitate to pick it up, bringing the phone to his ear with a cheerful, "Hey, Jiwoong!"

Jiwoong's voice came through, a bit quieter than usual but still trying to match Ricky's energy. "Hey, Ricky. How's it going?"

"Eh, same old, same old," Ricky said, spinning his chair a little as he talked. "Just drowning in this assignment. It's a real pain in the ass, but you know, gotta get it done. What's up with you? How's everything going?"

Jiwoong's tone was casual as he replied, but there was an undertone of something Ricky couldn't quite place. "I'm good, just... you know, the usual stuff. Have you been in touch with your friends lately? I know you've been pretty busy."

Ricky perked up at the mention of his friends. "Oh yeah, totally! I've been chatting with Gyuvin and the others whenever I get the chance. They've all been up to some crazy stuff lately. Like, just the other day, Gyuvin was telling me about this ridiculous prank they pulled on Taerae. It was so funny, man. And then there was this time when—"

He continued on, animatedly recounting stories about his friends, his voice full of excitement. Unconsciously, he kept bringing up Gyuvin, his name slipping into almost every other sentence. He didn't notice it at first, but Jiwoong did.

After a few minutes, Jiwoong sighed, cutting Ricky off mid-sentence. "Ricky... you seem really obsessed with your friends."

Ricky's smile faded, his heart sinking slightly. He paused, unsure of how to respond. "What... what do you mean by that?"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line, and then Jiwoong spoke again, his voice quieter now, almost hesitant. "Just... forget it, okay? Look, Ricky, I'm breaking up with you."

Ricky's heart stopped. The words hit him like a punch to the gut, leaving him breathless. "W-what? Why?" he stammered, his voice trembling.

Jiwoong sighed again, this time more deeply, as if he had been holding something in for a long time. "It's just not working out for me, Ricky. I've... I've found someone else. Someone I truly love."