↱ECHO↲ ⇾seongjoong⇽

第二十六

It's late when Wooyoung returns home from Ilsan.

He looks tired and worn, but his face still lights up when Seonghwa rolls into the foyer to greet him.

"Oh my god, I've missed you so much, hyung," the younger exclaims as he hugs Seonghwa tightly.

He smells like the train and faded hints of aftershave.

"I'm never leaving again."

"Please don't." Seonghwa's voice cracks when he says it and Wooyoung leans back to look his best friend in the eye.

"Hyung, what's wrong?"

Seonghwa doesn't know what to say.

He just stares at the concern in Wooyoung's eyes and loses himself there, in how things used to be before he went and complicated everything.

Before he dared to let Hongjoong into his fragile heart.

"I just really missed you," he ends up saying, tears cresting over his cheeks. "I missed us."

"Oh, hyung, don't go too soft on me. You're not a pretty crier."

"Fuck you." But Seonghwa smiles.

He really doesn't think he could ever survive without this man.

Wooyoung seems soothed by their usual banter and Seonghwa decides that an explanation of the situation can wait.

He'll tell Wooyoung about the surgery later, let him know that things have gone to shit with Hongjoong.

But for tonight, he will just enjoy his best friend's company and be the source of comfort that he needs.

__

Three days pass before Seonghwa has the courage to come clean.

Naturally, Wooyoung is furious about the surgery, but Seonghwa is adamant about it, citing that if he doesn't get it, then he'll never know if he would be able to walk again, but the truth is that's he's numb to the idea.

It's a very similar state to how he felt getting into the car that fateful night not knowing whether he would live or die.

To be honest, he doesn't really care.

He just knows that doing nothing about his situation is no longer an option.

And if he is forced to live, he might as well try to improve his quality of life.

What is there to live for anyway?

This half-life that he has no choice but to settle for because that's what fate decided to give him?

It hurts worse just thinking about what he could've had than it does to die.

It hurts worse to wake up everyday and see other people live his life out there, pursuing their dreams and choosing their life path.

If they want something, they just choose to go after it.

They can quit that job they hate, travel the world, fall in love for real, go back to school... walk.