"Me falling in love with you was unavoidable. I needed you like the desert needs rain."
✱
Shin Hoseok, a highschool drop out, has three jobs to pay for his life.
Chae Hyungwon is a socially awkward and shy kid with family issues.
No one could have k...
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It took Hoseok longer than usual to get to the riverbank. It was probably thanks to all the stumbling and falling he made. His left knee was bleeding, Hyungwon's jeans ripped.
People around him turned to walk on the other side of the street or pushed him out of their way.
It had gotten dark and Hoseok shivered, putting his hood up.
He had tried calling Hyunwoo again but the older didn't answer, neither did Minhyuk or one of the others.
Only Jooheon had replied to his texts, telling him to stay at home.
"Well, too late for that", he murmured, almost running in a lamp post.
He was relieved as he finally saw Han River.
Hoseok didn't know what he was doing and if he was sober he probably wouldn't have done what he was doing now. But his messed up brain told him to go where the other were, not really realizing that they were probably long gone anyways.
The boy stumbled down the steps to the river, all the lights that got reflected on the water made his head spin. He grabbed the railing for support.
"Kihyun-ah!", he screamed at the top of his lungs, a few people around him getting startled. They all threw annoyed glances at him.
"C'mon where are you?", he yelled again, forming a cone around his mouth with his hands.
He looked down at the water, frightening thoughts of his best friend drowning somewhere in there filling his head.
"He can't swim that well", he mumbled, his lips forming a pout.
For a few more minutes he only walked around the park, asking very rude people if they had seen his friend and almost provoking them to call the police twice.
He came to a small grass field where the water wasn't surrounded by a railing. Hoseok made the dumb move to go at the shoreline, looking over the water.
Of course, the alcohol making him even more clumsy as he usually was, his right foot slipped on the grass and he tumbled down.
Water was surrounding him for a second before he could realize what had happened. The cold water was making it hard to swim and he struggled to get his head out again. His whole body felt as if a thousand needles were poking him painfully.
Finally, right before his sight could go black, he got his head above the water, taking a deep breath.
Thankfully the water was calm at this part of the river but it was dangerously cold nonetheless.
"Shit, shit", Hoseok cursed, his lips quivering and the words coming out hoarsely.
"Is everything alright?", a few people who had seen him fall in came running, grabbing his arms and helping Hoseok out of the water.
"I'm fine", he said, searching for his phone, which seemed gone.
Hoseok let out a few more curses, beginning to shake violently. His lips were slowly turning blue.
"Should I call an ambulance?", a young woman asked, looking down at his trembling body worryingly.
"N-no", Hoseok stuttered, slowly rising to his feed, "I need to find s-someone."
Everyone shared looks, but they nodded nonetheless, leaving him be.
With soaking wet clothes, Hoseok stood there, not knowing what to do.
"Hoseok?", a voice came from behind him, but the boy didn't hear it. Only staring over the river, shaking.
Two hands were placed on his shoulders, the contact feeling warm, making him shake even more.
"Hell, what happened to you? Who is so stupid and falls into a river? No wonder my brother likes you so much."
A warm jacket got draped over his cold body and finally Hoseok looked up.
Minho, Hyungwon's older brother stood beside him, a worried expression on his face.
"C'mon I'm going to bring you home. You'll probably freeze to death."
Hoseok just nodded, how much he was freezing and his worry for Kihyun being the only things on his fogged mind.
________
Sweat was forming on Minho's forehead, that's how high he turned the heater on in his car.
Hoseok sat in the seat beside him, still shaking like a leaf and that worried the older. He'd probably come down with a fever soon.
"Aish, my parents are going to kill me", he muttered, taking a left turn.
"Yah! Hoseok! Consider yourself lucky that my brother likes you. Do you know how scary mother can get?"
There was no reaction from the boy, which coursed Minho to look over to him.
His blond head had fallen against the window, Hoseok's whole body looking limp and worn out.
"Hyungwon is going to freak", Minho said to himself, stepping on the gas pedal just a bit more.
