Aura - Yunchan

prologue

Yunhyeong had this kind of aura about him, Chanwoo had realised.

Yunhyeong was approachable. Oh, definitely. He was friendly, nice, smiley, but sometimes it seemed like he shouldn't seem as approachable as he was. Those kinds of moments came about when he'd perfectly ace something in sports against everyone's expectations; when he'd just look up at the sky simply because that was a habit of his and he'd end up looking like an angel whether he knew it or not; or simply in a few of the photos Yunhyeong posted of himself. Not the selfies, but the ones where he'd keep his camera far away, timed so he could get into a pose before it would shoot, or sometimes he'd ask Chanwoo to take the photo. Chanwoo always felt distant then. Destined to be behind the camera and capture beauty but not for himself.

Chanwoo didn't like thinking about these things but he still found himself doing it. Yunhyeong had auras that Chanwoo couldn't explain, but he liked to try.

He always found it delirious to think that Yunhyeong only had eyes for him at any moment of time even if it was literal, like when Yunhyeong would squish Chanwoo's face and stare him straight in the eye only to say the lamest stuff ever. Yunhyeong had tons of friends. It was like he knew every guy his age within a twenty-mile radius (or just generally...a city radius) and it just seemed like the world loved him. A lot.

So when he received a text saying 'CHANNNNN HANBIN HATES MEEEEE' with excessive crying emojis, Chanwoo didn't sympathise. He just rolled his eyes, flopping onto his bed as he texted back a lazy 'no he doesn't' and pulled out the book he had been reading for the past few days. It was something his aunt had got him for his first birthday after he had come out - it was about two boys who were learning not to be scared about what they felt for each other. Two boys wanting to love each other in a world that denied it.

It was quite sweet. Chanwoo loved it, and he wished he had started reading it earlier.

His phone pinged again when he hadn't even read a sentence and he twitched a little but just ignored it.

Jiwon knew there was something in his eyes when he looked in the mirror, but he couldn't describe it. They were brighter than they usually were. They held an emotion that Jiwon couldn't recognise, and maybe it was just Jiwon's weird spurts of sentimentality hitting him again. Maybe Junhoe in his emotional state wasn't as sweet as Jiwon thought he was and he'd put something in the elder's drink before he left because stupid Jiwon never knew how to ask him to stay.

The phone kept on pinging, relentlessly, and Chanwoo grumbled to himself before he finally picked it up.

- HE DOES HE DOES
- HE'S IGNORING ME
- HE GAVE ME THIS WEIRD LOOK TODAY TOO

- good grief
-such hatred

- you don'T UNDERStand the look he gave me was like 'GET. OUT. OF. MY. LIFE.'

- what did you do to the poor guy

- I was just being normal??

- you know hanbin finds you burdensome but like in that playful way im sure it's fine

- chanwoooooooo ㅠㅠ
- this is different, I know it I've done something badd

- why do you care so much

- I always care!!

- i know i know, it was a stupid question...
- look STOP caring about him at least for now. you did nothing wrong, so just go vacuum or vlog or do whatever makes you happy, this isn't worth your time

- ugh I love you to pi ec es chan

- ❤️

Chanwoo smiled, thinking that he was happy only because he could get back to his book and if there were other reasons, he could get to them later.

There was fire too, flickering fiercely in his pupils. And maybe that was because Jiwon was an idiot in the way that he knew the right but still did the wrong, meaning he was going to confront the person who Junhoe had cried on his arm about, the person who made Junhoe break down all his macho barriers and let Jiwon look after him. That didn't happen, not when it came to Junhoe, this Junhoe, his Junhoe, with anyone. Perhaps, Jiwon was going into battle in the name of love, a love that he didn't know how to explain.

Chanwoo frowned, his hand itching towards his phone for a second and he wanted to push the feeling down, but then he was groaning and reaching for it because this book was brainwashing him.

- heyy hanbin hyung

- chanwoo yahhhhh

- are you angry at yunhyeong

- what? nono

- were you in a bad mood earlier

- yeah...how did you know?
- a teacher mouthed jinhwan off and i hurled at him and then it went downhill it was just a mess...sorry

- i hope jinhwanhyung's okay and thatvteacher sucks but don't apologise to me apologise to yun hyung
- don't take your feelings out on other uninvolved people and if you can't help it then explain
- please
- he's hurt. you and i both know he cares about you AND fancies you a little

- yeah...
- okay I'll do it now. sorry man don't hurt me ):

- i won't if you don't hurt him

Then Chanwoo physically threw his phone away this time because he was annoyed about it distracting him so much, but then he was smiling, without really being able to help it. He wondered sometimes if in a past life, Yunhyeong was a prince and Chanwoo was his knight because he realised that he liked fighting for Yunhyeong's honour, even in the smallest ways. He ended up pushing the childish thought out of his head as he went back to his book with a calmer heart, and he didn't see the text that said 'me and hanbin are fine now! and...I don't know what you said to him but thank you. you've always got my back 💕'.