GLITTER

one

"sehun, you have to get over vivi." junmyeon sighed, leaning over to grab his mug from the coffee table. sehun pursed his lips, closing in on himself at the mention of his late dog— it made him want to cry. he hated that junmyeon was right, he was always right, sehun had been too invested in vivi, carelessly in love with the pet.

"no," he frowned, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at junmyeon who caught it effortlessly with one hand. the elder put it aside, while he drank from his cup, swallowing quietly as he thought to himself. sehun looked elsewhere, crossing his arms and trying hard to swallow the lump in his throat.

"what if we do as i said and we throw out—"

"no, i am not throwing out vivi's things. i spent a lot of money on it and it's his, junmyeon." sehun tried to sound stern but ended up whining like a child. he felt as though he was being forced to grow up all over again.

"we can donate it? chanyeol or kyungsoo might want it for their—" junmyeon was calm as he suggested it, but he talked fully knowing sehun was going to cut him off again.

"no, vivi hated chanyeol. and kyungsoo wouldn't use it anyway."

"jongin?"

"ew no— he has enough already."

junmyeon closed his eyes as he breathed deeply, almost grimacing into the rim of his coffee cup. "okay... i was thinking of another thing then."

"what?" sehun said coarsely, raising his eyebrows and twirling his foot. junmyeon's breath caught in his throat audibly as he hesitated. sehun stared too intensely.

"you could get another dog?" junmyeon sounded hopeful but also like he was stepping on egg shells.

sehun stilled at the words, emotions twisting and turning, burning out like matches in his heart before he started to sniffle. he should feel angry that junmyeon thought it was okay to replace vivi, he should be disgusted by the idea of having another dog— loathe it entirely. but he didn't. it had been lonely these past few months without vivi, especially since sehun didn't really have anyone special in his life. there was yifan for a bit when vivi was alive, a one sided crush he had for kyungsoo after that, and then nothing. yifan and him stayed as friends and kyungsoo never found out since it wasn't serious for sehun. he got over it in less than a month and was grateful to avoid the rejection but sad that he couldn't hold proper feelings for someone. vivi was permanent; sehun needed permanence again.

"you think vivi would be mad at me?" he shyly asked.

"of course not." junmyeon smiled softly. and sehun was thankful for it; junmyeon never teased or made fun of him like his other friends did. not that sehun couldn't take banter or light goading, he just needed comfort sometimes, something warm and protective. junmyeon really felt like an older brother despite the times he refused his attachment to the elder; because sehun was so dependent on junmyeon it was scary.

"okay," sehun bit his lip, suddenly sheepish. "i want you to help me get one like you did last time."

junmyeon was the one who called sehun about vivi; the best breed and personality he knew matched well with the younger's and "he is just so cute sehun, get him!"

"i already did." junmyeon said, ignoring sehun's shock. "he's a beagle named baekhyun; i saw him at this shop that's kind of weird... but he's cute and playful and very energetic."

the opposite of vivi, sehun held back.

"where is he?"