blue bruises [book 3 - mysmes hanahaki trilogy]

2

MC stood in front of the apartment door, fingers wrapped in a fist, millimeters away from the door. He was still confused about why V had called on him, but he wasn't about to turn him out. V had always been serenely sweet to MC, even when he himself was suffering under the loss of Jumin.

Licking his chapped lips, MC knocked lightly on the door, nervous. A muffled voice from inside, "Just a minute!" MC nodded to himself, smoothing out his long-sleeved tee. He wore black joggers as well, paired with converse. The door opened after several seconds, and a bright-eyed V met MC's eyes.

Several inches taller than the freshman and with stunning teal hair, V's presence was loud and bright. The only deceiving aspect were the heavy bags beneath his eyes. MC felt a twinge of empathy.

"MC! I'm glad you're here. Come in, come in." V ushered MC into the apartment, and MC was acutely aware of his friend's hand on the small of his back. His hands sweat up for no reason. Flicking his hair out of his eyes, he surveyed the apartment.

It was obvious that V had been cleaning- he spotted windex on the counter and balled up paper towels in the trash. He wasn't judging or anything, but he found it odd. MC didn't expect special treatment, but he felt nice that V had done this for him.

MC noticed a bottle of red wine on the counter and he turned to V in surprise, "That looks expensive," he commented, hitting V playfully on the arm as he walked to the bar counter.

V smiled ruefully, rubbing his arm, which hurt more than it should've. He poured the both of them a glass of red wine, then tied on his apron and began chopping vegetables for dinner. They chatter casually, and soon MC forgot his previous anxiety and relaxed into the gentle jazz V had put on over his sound system.

When there was comfortable silence, MC admired V's form over the top of his wine glass, smiling to himself. Tall and lanky, MC would've thought that V would be clumsy, but as always, the teal-haired young man would always surprise him. V hummed along to the jazz as he chopped onions without batting an eye, tossed vegetables in a cast iron pan, and fried tofu.

Besides how lovely V looked as he whisked around the kitchen, the food smelled delicious, and MC found himself forgetting about his priorities, like how he had class tomorrow and how V's best friend had died and how Rika wasn't doing well herself.

MC got up from his stool and walked to the pictures in frames along the walls, looking over the familiar faces. He saw himself a few times with the rest of the group, grinning happily, usually sandwiched between Zen and Saeran. V looked over and saw MC floating around the pictures, so he walked over and pointed to one on MC's right. "That's my favorite," he commented wistfully.

It was a picture of the whole group at Saeran and Saeyoung's graduation. The twins were in the middle, Saeran smiling genuinely for once, and everyone else was crowded around them, wearing button-downs and sundresses. MC was right next to Saeran, one arm around his shoulders, looking up at V, who was on his other side. Jumin was in the picture as well, dressed down out of his ever-present tux, and instead in a striped dress shirt, hair tousled, looking happier than usual.

"Enough memories," V said sadly, and gestured for MC to sit down again. A few minutes later, V served MC dinner, stir fry with peanut sauce, and they ate out on V's porch, watching the sun disappear below the tree line. V talked about how his photography was going and how he wanted to travel, watching in satisfaction as MC clung to his words.

Once the sun had sunken and the night became colder, the two headed inside. MC offered to do the dishes, but halfway through the chore, V turned up the jazz music and turned off the sink, spinning MC and taking his hands to dance slowly around the kitchen.