[ ✓ ] 𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐀 , seho .

thirty

thirty

THERE WAS SOMETHING DISCOMFORTING about the sight of Chanyeol's dwelling. Yeseul had been a rather close acquaintance with the boy, along with his friends, but she still felt a slight anger towards this house. It may not have been the same house where she, along with both her brothers, would get completely wasted in their young years. But the fact that Chanyeol owned it made her bitter.

"Wait here," Yeseul spoke quietly. The boy next to her nodded, looking down at his lap. Yeseul could tell he was uneasy. "It's okay, Junmyeon. I promise."

Yeseul slammed the car door, then running up to the door. She didn't even knock. Inside, there was the typical party scene. Smoke. Glass bottles and plastic red cups. Loud music. Laughter.

There were only four or five people inside, all those who Yeseul couldn't recognize, except for Chanyeol, who had his head tipped back as he drank from a beer. He sat on the sofa with a girl and another boy next to him. Once he noticed Yeseul standing right before the doorway, he stopped his laughing and drinking.

"Yeseul," he shouted, his voice dragging out annoyingly. Yeseul clenched her jaw before speaking.

"Where is he?" she asked in a flat tone. Chanyeol just stared back at her in confusion.

"He?" he chuckled, being completely oblivious. Yeseul walked towards the boy, her temper becoming lesser and lesser as time passed. "If by he you mean your boy-toy Yixing, I'm afraid he's dead. But then again, you and I had a good time or two."

With that comment, Yeseul slapped Chanyeol right across the face. He winced at the sharp action.

"Where the fuck is Sehun, you asshole. Don't lie to me."

Chanyeol let out a deep breath, his chest rising and falling as he did so. He blinked slowly, Yeseul deeply staring at his face. She was reminded of all the nights she watched Sehun run off with him, and come home completely petrified, and if not that, completely buzzed. The anger grew inside of her. Another slap across his cheek.

"You have five seconds to tell me where he is," she commanded.

"Goddamn, he's in the bathroom. Fucking hell." Chanyeol raised his arms in surrender before sitting himself back down on the couch.

Yeseul made her way down the hallway, opening each door on her way. They were all bedrooms, until one of the last doors where the bathroom was. The door opened easily, that is until it stopped at none other than her brother's feet. As she saw Sehun lying on the bleak stone tiles, her heart sunk. She hadn't seen him like this in nearly a decade. She never thought he'd do this again.

He had been laying on his side, his body lifeless, arms spread above his head and legs curled into his stomach. There was a beer bottle right next to his face. Yeseul felt the air in her lungs completely vanish. She tried to stay strong, but tears still fell down her face.

She kneeled down next to Sehun, pushing his shoulder over, laying him on his back. His eyes were closed and there was dry beer around his mouth.

Yeseul lightly tapped his cheek to see if he would awaken. It didn't work. She moved her hands about his face, which had been warm, despite the cold flooring beneath him. The skin surrounding his eyes were dark and swollen. His hair was unbrushed and out of place.

She wrapped her arm beneath his neck, lifting up his body. The muscle he had grown made him more heavy, Yeseul couldn't possibly carry him alone.

"Sehun, wake up. Please, just wake up." She continued to shake his shoulders and beg for him to rouse, but it all was a waste.

Yeseul rested Sehun back onto the floor, hovering above her brother as she panted. Her hair fell over her face, sweat beginning to form on her forehead. As she stared at her brother, the deja vu was too much to handle. Before, she wouldn't care that he was passed out. But now, it was all too real. She was sober enough to realize that Sehun had OD'd again.

Her heart skipped a beat as the door slowly opened behind her. She saw a somewhat familiar face standing in the doorway. It was Jongin. Another one of Chanyeol's friends, so just another catalyst to the relapse of her brother.

"Let me help you," he quietly said. She could tell his concern for Sehun was sincere. Jongin rushed to Yeseul's side, helping her lift Sehun off the ground and into their arms. They carried him out of the smoke-filled house that smelled of alcohol. Outside, the weather was warm and comforting, especially after the cold air conditioning of the house, along with being on the cold tiles. The night sky was dark, just like the mood that had not only overcome Yeseul, but Junmyeon, who had been standing in front of the car. She didn't have to hear him speak to know what he had been feeling—his face said it all.

"Open the door," Yeseul told as her voice cracked. Junmyeon listened, rushing to open the door. Junmyeon sat in the car, Jongin and Yeseul laying Sehun down across the backseat, his shoulders resting on Junmyeon's lap.

Junmyeon's heart had begun to beat faster as he held Sehun's body in his arms. His face looked the same, except more sullen, more broken. His hair was darker, just like the way his soul had become. Junmyeon froze, but tears didn't hesitate to form in his eyes. Two years. That's how long it had been since Junmyeon had touched Sehun, felt his soft skin, looked at his beautiful face. Two years since Junmyeon had fallen in love. Two years since he faced his fear.

Yeseul watched from the driver's seat as Junmyeon softly stroked Sehun's cheek, then brushing his hands through Sehun's hair. Beads of tears rolled down his face as he held Sehun tightly in his arms. As Junmyeon let out quiet cries, Yeseul felt her heart sink deeper and deeper.

"I love you," Junmyeon spoke quietly, his voice cracking. He admired the hidden beauty behind the sadness that was written over Sehun's face. The younger still had the softest skin Junmyeon had ever felt, and was still the most stunning face his eyes had ever seen.

Jongin stood awkwardly next to the car, his hands in his pockets, head staring at the ground. Yeseul eventually invited him into the car, he then sat himself in the passenger's seat.

Yeseul drove off. Junmyeon cried. Jongin watched.