RED | nyukyu ✓

thirty three

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 : 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
❝  i can see that smile and can tell
that you did more than move on. ❞
⁻ ᵈᵃʸ⁶ ⁻

ᵕ̈♡˳೫˚∗

when the lecture ended, chanhee quickly packed his bag and made his way out of the classroom staring intently at his phone as though it was the most interesting thing on earth which caused him to bump into someone who had been waiting outside his lecture hall, the other boy catching him in his arms. "hi!" 

"ji?" chanhee asked, his voice rising slightly out of pure shock before he grounded himself once more and cleared his throat. "why're you in this building dancer boy?" changmin raised an eyebrow at the nickname but nevertheless smiled at him, hugging him tightly and ignoring all the odd stares he was receiving. 

unlike changmin who seemed to not care in the slightest about any of their glares, chanhee felt his stomach churn at the sudden attention being given onto them and he had to fight the urge to push changmin away because he knew that the boy had meant no harm. and besides, although he didn't admit it to him, he truly was enjoying his hug.

"i missed you a lot," changmin whispered, his breath hot against chanhee's neck and causing the boy to feel warmth bloom on his cheeks. this time, he did swat changmin away, the dancer laughing softly and god, his laugh was something that chanhee never once expected to be so fond of and yet there he was, his heart beating wildly in his chest the second he heard changmin's laugh. 

"don't say shit like that," chanhee murmured to which changmin replied to with a small smile before locking arms with him and asking him about his day. 

after his whole semi-accidental confession a few days before, there hadn't been a single day where he hasn't talked to changmin be it online or in person and, although he found changmin to be unbearably clingy and affectionate at times, he couldn't fully say that he despised his love, his endless warmth always being something that comforted chanhee regardless of how he felt that day.

but, once they reached the outside of chanhee's dorm, they saw a familiar boy standing by the door with his eyes glued onto them and their locked arms. 

"younghoon-"

"so you two got together in the end right?" younghoon started, a sad smile on his face as he tried his best to avert eye contact with the pair. "i can't say that i was all that shocked to be honest," younghoon added, shrugging as he forced himself to at least focus on something inbetween chanhee and changmin rather than have his gaze linger elsewhere. 

before either of them could say anything, younghoon spoke up once more. "hey changmin, can i speak with you for a bit?" this time, the older boy had finally met eyes with him and in his eyes, there wasn't a trace of resentment or hate but it seemed as though he had already accepted what was before him. changmin nodded, freeing his arm from chanhee. "i-i'll talk to you later chanhee! i just wanna say something to him real quick!" 

"i'm sorry." those were the only words that chanhee could muster because what else could he say when he knew he was part of the reason why things had gotten so strange between them?

ever since his confession to changmin, chanhee had begun thinking of different ways to break the news to younghoon but every single way he had thought of felt ingenuine or as though he were making light of the very real feelings younghoon had for him. and yet, he had still found out one way or another and all chanhee could utter was a simple apology to which younghoon smiled at. 

"it's not your fault," younghoon reassured him, chanhee feeling a sharp pain stabbing at his chest when younghoons' tired eyes had met his. "you're allowed to like whoever you want to and i guess, i'm happy it's changmin." despite him claiming to be happy, chanhee heard the slight crack in his voice as though he were stopping himself from choking on his own words. 

"i'll head in first then," chanhee said, both boys waving goodbye at him and once the door locked, changmin stared at younghoon, waiting for the words he wanted to tell him. 

younghoon waved his hand, asking changmin to follow him towards the lobby. "chanhee can probably hear us if i talk to you about it outside his room," he explained and changmin nodded, following him with his arms crossed and his guard up. he had watched enough movies to believe that whatever that was going to happen next would not be in his favour and as such, he was on edge. 

once at the lobby which was conveniently empty, changmin was prepared to come up with retorts to challenge younghoon and as his brain was coming up with millions of scenarios, younghoon had suddenly bowed at him. "please take care of chanhee." 

"wh-" 

younghoon stood up straight and began rambling. "he can be difficult sometimes and may not always get along with everybody but he truly deserves the world. it's funny since he tries so hard to pretend that he doesn't give a shit about anybody but in fact, he's the one that cares the most and i'm sure you've realised that by now. he's not the most open person out there so please be patient with him because i'm sure that if it's with you, he will try to be more open about his life and things like that."

"that was not what i was expecting at all," changmin admitted, shocked by younghoon's sudden outburst. "i expected you to be upset or something."

"i mean, i'm not going to deny the fact that i'm sad but there's also no denying that i can't change how he feels so right now, i'm solely acting as chanhee's best friend and not some boy who was in love with him," younghoon said. "so yea, take care of him okay?" 

"of course i will," changmin said. "you know, it should be easy for you to find someone given how you're like." 

younghoon laughed at his remark, digging through his pocket to find his earpieces. "maybe in another lifetime i'll beat you and win chanhee's love."

"hey! don't say things like that!" younghoon chuckled, changmin feeling relief flood over him at how the older boy didn't seem to bear any grudges against him. "but, we never know what lies in store for us in a different timeline so..." changmin shrugged.

after a while of idle chatter between them, the pair finally said goodbye, changmin half wondering if he should get kevin to give a talk to chanhee as well while younghoon wondered if in another life, he could've been the one that chanhee chose in the end. 

ᵕ̈♡˳೫˚∗

author's note:
my exams are killing me but i hope this chapter was okay!