Like a Fool - Hyungwonho

19.

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Hoseok entered his apartment building with groceries when the woman at the lobby desk stopped him by calling his name. He quickly walked over, question marks popping over his head. "Am I in trouble?" He asked as he got to the desk and leaned on it.

The older woman let out a laugh and shook her head. "Oh, no. You're one of the nicest tenants here." She said, waving her hands in the air a little, but that just made him even more confused. What had happened? Did his father come around again?

"I just.. It's happened a few times but that one boy you sometimes come with had been trying to visit you. He goes up but comes down only a few minutes later..." She explained, fingernails tapping on the counter. Who? "Can you describe him?" he requested slightly confused still. Minhyuk? That was the only one who really made sense but even he knew his new door code since he was the one to change it. So it didn't make sense that he'd come just to leave.

"The tall one? The really pretty skinny one." She shrugged and it clicked, feeling like he'd been slapped in the face once more. "Hyungwon?" he muttered out, bringing a hand to his forehead as it hit him. "He's been here? When?" He then asked, wide eyes staring at the receptionist as he leaned on the desk.

"A few times. He was just here. he left like five minutes before you got back. I wasn't sure if I should tell you but he looked... How do I say it nicely? Crushed?" She spoke and Hoseok swallowed his spit, internally curing himself to the deepest pit of hell. "We... It's complicated but thanks for telling me." he sighed, his heart beating inside his chest like it was going to explode.

Hyungwon had come to see him. He had come to his home for whatever reason. But he hadn't been there any of the times that he did come and the younger hadn't been able to get in because of the new passcode. "Shit." he cursed out loud accidentally, giving the older woman an apologetic look.

"Did you two fight? Is he your boyfriend?" She then asked making the young adult jump a little. "N-No!" he exclaimed, voice wavering and he cleared it. "Not yet, at least." he corrected himself and shrugged slightly. "But we've not been talking and he... Why didn't he message me?"

Hoseok sighed. He had tried practically everything to talk to the boy. Approaching him at school didn't work because Hyungwon, one: didn't come every day and two: when he did come to school he avoided Hoseok with all his might. He even sat on the complete opposite end of the art history classroom in Friday's class.

It honestly stung a little bit to constantly get the cold shoulder so often. It was like their relationship had regressed to step zero before Hoseok had brute-forced his way inside the other's life. It felt awful. 

He didn't see the younger at work when he dropped by the store near his house and when he asked one of the other workers, they said that Hyungwon had taken a few weeks off to focus on his studies. So cornering him at work wouldn't be of use since he wasn't there anyway. 

He had sent a few messages, mostly just wishing the younger a good day just to show that he was ready to talk when the other one was. But he had only received those two blue checkmarks under his messages. 

"I should go up now. Do tell me if he comes again." Hoseok said to the receptionist and gave her a short smile. She nodded her head, waving him off. He grabbed his grocery bag from the ground and without saying anything else he quickly walked to the elevator.

Should he message the younger that he knew? No. He shouldn't. If he did Hyungwon might not show up again and he didn't want that. He wanted to be home the next time the younger tried to get in.

He soon arrived at his door, staring down at the lock. He really considered changing it back into the old one but resisted. If he did, Minhyuk might murder him. So he pushed in the new code that he still wasn't completely used to and opened the door.