EMPTY SPACE ; yugbam [HIATUS]

-17-

"You're already done?"

Their instructor looked down at the two boys in disbelief. She checked her timer with wide eyes.

"Done in record time. Good job, boys."

Yugyeom and Bambam high-fived. They glanced over at Micah, who was still struggling to sew up the fake wound.

Bambam snorted. "We finally beat him at something."

Yugyeom grinned, watching Micah finally get a grip on the needle. A couple seconds later, he finished and raised his hand high in the air. The instructor went over and recorded his time. He glanced over at Yugyeom and Bambam who waved at him teasingly.

Yugyeom watched as his expression changed from proud to pure hatred. He glared at the two boys from across the room.

"I told you studying pays off", Yugyeom said to Bambam. The other boy rolled his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

"Whatever. If it helps us beat Micah, I'll do however much studying you want me to do."

The final timer beeped and several pairs of trainees groaned, throwing their needles on the floor. The instructor tried to calm them down, assuring them that this was only one test, and it wouldn't determine if they moved on or not.

Yugyeom and Bambam stood up, getting ready to leave for lunch. Micah shoved past them, nearly throwing Bambam to the ground.

"What the hell?!", Bambam exclaimed, brushing off his jeans. "Are you really that mad that we finally beat you at something?"

Micah whipped around, glaring at Bambam. "I am going to make it on a G.O.T., Kunpimook. I'm not going to let your skinny little ass get in my way."

Bambam clenched his fists at his side and Yugyeom put a hand on his shoulder warningly. Micah narrowed his eyes at the action.

Then, he stormed away, leaving the class to go eat lunch. Bambam released the tension from his body, still watching where Micah had walked off.

"Don't do anything stupid, Bam", Yugyeom warned. Bambam shook his head.

"I'm not going to. Let's get to lunch already."

---

It was silent in their room. The dim light from the moon fell in through their window, and Yugyeom stared at it, still wide-awake.

Bambam had been off all day, ever since Micah had yelled at him. Yugyeom was worried about the smaller boy. He didn't want Bambam to do anything rash. If he got in a fight with Micah, he could get kicked out of NOVA.

He heard ruffling coming from Bambam's bed as he turned under the covers. He was pretty sure Bambam was asleep at this point.

Yugyeom sighed deeply. He knew he wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon.

He slipped out of his bed silently, putting on his shoes and a jacket and heading to the door. He hovered by it, glancing over at Bambam. He was sound asleep.

He opened the door, leaving the room and walking away from it silently. He walked down the familiar halls, following them to the door to the roof.

He went outside, feeling the cold air on his face. His eyes were immediately drawn to the city lights, watching them twinkle in the dark.

He thought about his parents, probably sleeping in their apartment. He thought about his room, and the friends he had left behind. If he made it on a G.O.T., he would have to say goodbye to all of them forever.

He wandered to the edge of the roof, closing his eyes and just feeling the air on his skin. He slipped off his jacket, shivering slightly as he adjusted to the cold.

Why was he here again? What did he have to prove? Why was he working so hard for this?

He opened his eyes, looking up at the sky and watching the stars shining in a dark ocean. He smiled softly to himself.

Maybe he wanted to see the stars, too.

---

"We made it again."

Bambam chuckled. "Are you surprised?"

Yugyeom shook his head. He gazed at the list. Micah was first, Bambam was second, and he was third.

"I'm still disappointed we didn't beat him again", Bambam complained, pulling on Yugyeom's arm to get him to follow him. Yugyeom sighed in agreement.

"I guess we'll just have to study more next level."

Bambam groaned. He leaned on Yugyeom and pouted. "No more studying, please."

Yugyeom chuckled and rolled his eyes at the smaller boy. "Let's go eat dinner."

They ate their meal, chatting with each other as usual. After, they walked back to their room. They had a bit of free time before lights out, and were trying to figure out what to do with it.

"We could watch a movie on my laptop or something?", Bambam suggested. Yugyeom bit his lip.

"Actually...I had something I wanted to show you."

Bambam raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Yugyeom threw a pair of shoes at Bambam's head. The other boy caught them just before they hit him. "Put on your shoes and a jacket."

Bambam grinned, shoving his shoes on his feet. He grabbed his jacket, bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Let's go", Yugyeom said, grabbing Bambam's arm and pulling him along.

He pulled him down the halls, toward a familiar door. Bambam furrowed his brows as Yugyeom paused in front of it, turning around to look at the smaller boy.

"The roof?"

"You'll see", Yugyeom replied, winking. Bambam gave him a look of confusion as Yugyeom pulled the boy out the door.

He stared at the area, eyes wide. He was silent and unmoving, just looking.

"Do you...like it?", Yugyeom asked, a nervous smile on his lips. Bambam blinked several times, as if checking that it was real.

"Why did you...", Bambam trailed off, walking forward and picking a bright red rose off of a chair.

"Well, you've been a little stressed out lately, so I wanted to make you a space where you could just...chill, I guess."

Yugyeom had decorated the entire space with fairy lights and flowers, so it looked like the roof at his parents' apartment. There were roses in pots, vine plants dangling from hanging pots, and lillies scattered around. Bambam gazed at it all with an emotional look. He turned around to look at Yugyeom, stars shining in his eyes.

"Thank you, Yugyeom."

---
messy chapter bc i'm trying to stretch this shit outtt