from zero » hyungwonho

vii

"If you don't take your shirt off then you're a loser," Minhyuk teased Jooheon, who still refused to take off his t-shirt even though he looked like he was about to pass out from the materials clinging to his body.

"Dude, it's like a hundred degrees out here, everyone's literally naked and you're too scared to take your top off?" Changkyun inquired, and Jooheon shot him a glare.

"Just because I don't have rock hard abs like Hoseok and Hyunwoo doesn't mean you can bully me," Jooheon pouted and Kihyun laughed.

"Fine, suffer from an erasable tan line covering your whole chest," he said, taking off his own t-shirt and throwing it over to Hyunwoo to stuff in his bag before sitting down next to Minhyuk.

"I don't have rock hard abs," Hoseok muttered to himself in confusion as he looked down at his body, causing Minhyuk to laugh as he overheard. "What?"

"You're funny," Minhyuk scoffed, patting Hoseok's back as his laughter died down.

Hoseok rolled his eyes before pulling his knees up to his chest and watching the waves roll onto the shore. The conversation with Hyungwon yesterday was still fresh in his mind, and Hoseok was unable to concentrate because of it.

He'd been out of it since the moment he returned home yesterday, trying to think if Hyungwon had really said those words to him.

'Let's write our story from zero.'

He sounded dead serious - desperate even - and Hoseok was hesitant to accept his offer at first.

"Look, don't cry, Hyungwon," he said, reaching up to cup the younger man's face and wipe his tears away. "I'll think about it, I promise, but I can't promise that I'll say yes."

Hyungwon nodded in understanding, stepping away from Hoseok's hand to wipe his own eyes with his arm.

"Thank you," he sniffled, bowing ninety degrees to express his gratitude and Hoseok wanted to smack him.

"Get up, you idiot," he teased with a roll of his eyes. "I'm only ten months older than you."

"Sorry," Hyungwon apologised, seeming a little sensitive at the moment.

"Go home, Hyungwon. Get some rest, ok?" Hoseok suggested, and Hyungwon nodded, the two parting ways soon after.

"Hey, are you ok?" Minhyuk asked, tapping Hoseok on the shoulder as he looked at with with concern. "You look really out of it today."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Hoseok smiled at his best friend.

He debated against telling Minhyuk about his little meet up with Hyungwon yesterday. He knew the younger would either do two things: scold him immensely or dropkick him. Or both.

But Minhyuk would also know what to do, and what Hoseok should do. He may not like Hyungwon but he wasn't an asshole.

"Are you sure?" Minhyuk pressed cautiously, and Hoseok decided to tell him.

"I saw Hyungwon yesterday," he blurted out, looking up to meet Minhyuk's shocked expression. "Like, actually saw him. He came to my workplace and asked what time I finished."

As expected, Minhyuk scrambled to his feet, almost kicking sand in Hoseok's face and screeched loudly in surprise.

"What? What happened?" Kihyun and the others turned around rapidly, thinking someone had been hurt.

"This guy saw Hyungwon yesterday!" Minhyuk exclaimed, pointing at Hoseok as he turned around to look at the others.

"What?" Hyunwoo asked as the others shuffled closer to Hoseok, gathering around him.

Hoseok sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb before looking up at Minhyuk, who was still standing.

"You're an asshole, I hate you," he pointed at Minhyuk, who sat down and pouted.

"What happened?" Changkyun asked, and Hoseok sighed again.

"He came to my workplace yesterday and asked what time I finished my shift," Hoseok repeated to the others and they all looked confused.

"Why?" Jooheon asked, leaning in closer.

"He said he needed to talk to me," Hoseok admitted quietly and it went silent for a minute before Kihyun spoke up.

"Did you talk to him?" The pink-haired male asked and Hoseok nodded. "What did he say?"

"He just explained why he left and why he came back and why he didn't tell me and all," Hoseok drawled, avoiding the big picture on purpose.

Unfortunately, Hyunwoo caught on like a magnet attracted to a fridge.

"You look like there's more you have to say," he pointed out. "Tell us."

Hoseok bit his lip before answering:

"He asked me to give him another chance," he confessed, looking down at his lap. "He said we can start over from zero."

"Are you going to?" Changkyun asked, all five of the boys leaning forward more with interest.

Hoseok considered it. "I don't know."

The others didn't know what to say, when Minhyuk suddenly stood up, all the attention now on him.

"I'm going to get some ice-cream," he stated quickly before turning on his heel and heading towards the ice cream stand on the other side of the beach.

He didn't have any money on him, but that was ok. He just needed to get away from them before he did something he wouldn't ever be able to explain.

Bringing his arm up, Minhyuk sniffled and rubbed at his eyes rather violently, angry at himself for letting his emotions get the better of him like this. He wouldn't break. Not now. Not ever.

~*~

Head in his hands, Hoseok scratched at his head harshly, as if the notion would fill his head with ideas on what the Hell to do about his situation.

Of course he still loved Hyungwon. How could he not? And it was clear Hyungwon still loved Hoseok based off of the emotions he let slip yesterday, and he obviously felt very guilty for his actions.

Hoseok was never one to hold grudges, and he often seemed to learn from his mistakes the first time. But Hyungwon was never a mistake in his eyes.

He still reminisced on the days and nights he spent with Hyungwon; they were his fuel for hoping Hyungwon would come back to him.

And he did come back to him, just like Hoseok knew he would. And he would be damned if he missed this golden opportunity to get the love of his life back again.

Reaching for his phone, he scrolled through his contacts, looking for Hyungwon's contact. He smiled to himself when he found it, remembering the time when Hyungwon had named himself on Hoseok's phone and vice versa for Hyungwon's phone.

To: meme chae
it's hoseok. i think i'll take you up on that offer :)

~*~

dramarama is happening people