"Pretending"

Gone Bad

Pain began to nestle in his lower back as he continued to wait for his ringtone to finish repeating itself. The time had passed painfully slow like the world was taunting him, silence he was once acquainted with was unwelcoming, and cold air seeped down to his bones yet he remained stationary.

Only when another hour passed did he relieve his body of the physical pain caused from remaining still. Grunting with his palm trying to force his floorings down to the apartment below, it only lifted his upper body enough for his legs to bend after the long hours of staring at his toes.

His ringtone started up again, he had guessed it was Kihyun. If he ended it, Kihyun would have continued to call until he answered, if he answered it, he would be forced to talk and he was sure he could skip out on the pestering. The cell phone continued to ring despite his wills, so eventually, he got up to handle the shrieking alarm.

By the third ring he canceled the call and turned the device off, the silence remained unwelcoming but he ignored it and brought his covers up to his bed. He resisted the urge to bring the sheets closer to his nose than needed, he knew there would still be a faint trace of Minhyuk, just thinking about it made him realize how he was abandoned once again. Shaking the thoughts from his head he threw the load into his washroom and scuffled over to the bathroom.

Washing the sadness from every place but his eyes, he stared at himself in the mirror and lifted the corners of his mouth, squinting slightly to make the smile seem more sincere. The tips twitched slightly and something about the shape of his eyes was off, trying to squint them more made it seem painful instead of gleeful.

How did he think Kihyun fell for it?

Dropping his head between his shoulders for a moment he tried to forget about Minhyuk, what did he do before he met Minhyuk? Groaning at the answer he didn't have enough energy to change the linens so he headed towards the closet to pull out a suitcase.

-

Minhyuk stood in front of the door, his hand reached out to hold the knob, but couldn't find it in himself to turn it. He continued to stare at the silver handle. He raised his hand to knock but stopped it before any contact was made. His hand opened and closed repeatedly, he touched the surface lightly and when he felt tears prick his eyes he took a step back before turning.

The way down the hallway was haunting, thoughts continuously occupied with Hyungwon's lack of response to the news.

He had just... let him go...

He had understood he put himself into the situation but could not understand why he had walked out, why it took him so long to answer Hyungwon's questions, why he hadn't tried to go back into the apartment, why he had chosen Hongbin. Hyungwon's words, his calm, pitying words, rang through his head and he slumped against the wall of the elevator once the doors shut, too emotionally drained to try and suppress the thoughts invading his mind.

He could imagine them starting their relationship as strangers again, Hyungwon's lifeless eyes would come back and the pained smile forced as if it were the only way Hyungwon would be able to show any signs of contempt.

He remembered the day he first met Hyungwon, the confused look on his face as he tried to find his new co-stars, the wave of shock that coursed throughout his body when Minhyuk had appeared, he wasn't the most open person, making Minhyuk wonder why he had offered to hand out the scripts in the first place. He could feel the same amount of fondness he experienced back then when Hyungwon had revealed exactly how nervous he was by tripping over his own feet and coming close to dropping the papers.

He remembered the first time he met Kihyun, and how Hyungwon's eyes immediately focused on him with a longing expression, despite the playful atmosphere he brought. He remembered the look on Hyungwon's face when he realized Kihyun had actually gone off without him and wondered just how hurt Hyungwon was at the moment.