LIE TO ME | WOOYU

III

"w-what?" yuto's phone dropped from his hands and bounced against the wood floor. "sir? hello?" the quiet voice echoed. the caller was a hospital in osaka, calling about his best friend and emergency contact hyojong. yuto's eyes were watering up and he was clutching to the couch like a lifeline, as he put his hand over his mouth and tried not to sob. he shakily picked up the phone and said, "y-yes, i'm here. what happened?" he was squeezing his chest and breathing quickly, and he was likely having a panic attack.

"i am very sorry to inform you of this sir, but kim hyojong was found dead this morning. i am so sorry for your loss." the caller's voice was empty and had no remorse in it as if he had said those words so many times that they no longer had any meaning. yuto quickly hung up and let out a loud sob, banging on the floor and flooding his eyes with tears. "why...why did it have to be him..." he kneeled down on the floor and let the tears flow out. they were harsh and quick, and soon yuto's hands were soaked from wiping them away.

all he wanted was to say goodbye. hyojong changed his life, and yuto loved him more than anyone. it was so painful to hear that he was
gone because he had tried to take his own life last year. it had all happened so fast, from yuto breaking down the door to slapping the knife away from his hands and crying into his chest. he never wanted to see hyojong like that, because it made him feel like he was not enough to supply his life. it was killing his spirit and his emotions.

as he continued to bury his head in his hands, all he could do was cry, and wish he had never known at all.

across the city, wooseok was currently getting yelled at by his manager. "-reckless, how could you go out without telling anyone? and you have been coming back to the dorm dangerously late, what if you get robbed? you need to fix yourself before the street gangs do. jesus, kids these days..." his manager shook his head in disapproval and crossed his arms over his chest. wooseok stared at the ground in a fake apologetic look. he actually didn't care at all, he really just wanted to go see yuto and cuddle with him.

"i'm sorry, manager-nim. i'll try to come home earlier from now on. i am sorry for worrying you." his manager turned his head up and left the room in spite, leaving wooseok in peace. and thank god he did, because he needed to talk to hwitaek. he was going to tell him about his relationship with yuto before he heard from dispatch or another paparazzi. as he exited the dorm to go downstairs to the studios, he was biting his lip in worry, because hwitaek could be very unpredictable.

as he knocked on the door and heard a faint "come in," he took a deep breath and opened the door. hui was staring at his computer screen and seemed to be very involved in a project of his. "what's up?" he mumbled. wooseok took a deep breath and put his hands on hwitaek's shoulders. "hui-hyung. i'm going to be blunt about this, I am dating someone." hui's neck snapped, around knocking wooseok off. "what?" he said. hui looked furious and his eye was twitching slightly. "you know, this isn't a big deal..." wooseok smiled, trying to reassure hwitaek. "ohhhhh no. you better not try that shit with me. because dating is exactly how careers end. i want the best for you and i want you to be happy but you cannot screw this up for everyone else. you hear me? date him and do whatever the fuck you want, but don't ever bring him to the dorm or to the building. i work harder than any of you and you will not mess my dream up. got it?"

wooseok gulped and nodded. he wrapped his arms in a hug around hui and whispered in his ear, "thank you, hyung." he quietly closed the door as he exited the room and headed upstairs to the dorm to grab his bag and head to yuto's apartment.

back in his apartment, yuto was currently breaking consciousness on his bed. he was lightheaded from the intense panic attack he had a half-hour ago and was having trouble breathing, and his face and skin were a shade paler than usual. he just wanted to die at that moment. he wanted to throw himself out a window, and he would have if he had the strength to get off his bed. his sheets were wet with tears and so was his sweater, the grey one he had taken from wooseok. as he heard a knock on the door, he wiped his eyes as he knew it was wooseok. as he gathered all his strength to get out of bed and head to the door, he was stumbling as his vision was starting to blur.

he opened the door a minuscule amount and started to lean on it for support. as a blurry image of wooseok stood in front of him, he collapsed on the floor and passed out.