black coffee | soonhoon

Twenty three

The sun has gradually set in the late afternoon, letting the winter nights draw in like a black cloud.

Jihoon lies swaddled in blankets, buried in his bed and staring hopelessly at the ceiling. His curtains are drawn across the picturesque view from his window and the only light comes from the soft glow of his bedside lamp.

His head pounds, like an echoing drum persistently booming inside his head. He screws his eyes shut, wanting to rub them but too aching and fatigued to move his arms from their blanket fetter. His toes curl tightly despite the heavy protection from the winter chill.

His eyebrows furrow when his phone screen lights up, blinding him with blue light.

Despite his raging headache, the internet obsessed teenager can't help but glance at the new notification.

But even his adamant craving isn't enough to make him move for something as simple as an Instagram message from a distant friend. With that, he turns back and resumes his ever so laborious and difficult task of staring at the ceiling doing bugger all.

That is, until his phone lights up again.

Damn, I must be famous, he thinks to himself, smirking slightly with his eyes closed against the bright glow. But what he can't ignore is the obnoxiously loud ringtone piercing through his ears.

"Oh for fucks sake," he curses. He forces himself to disassemble his blanket pile to reach his vibrating phone.

Unknown number is calling...

A smart person would ignore this, and Jihoon is normally smart.

Normally.

"Hello," his voice croaks through the speaker, worrying the receiver who furrows his eyebrows.

"Jihoon?" He questions, wondering subconsciously if Mingyu even gave him the right number- that asshole would be in for it big time if he didn't.

There comes a long pause from Jihoon's end, followed by a groggy, "Yeah?"

Soonyoung internally relaxes, relieved that he doesn't have to awkwardly apologise and hang up. "I-It's Soonyoung."

Jihoon frowns, clocking his mind back, trying to remember if he'd ever given the older his number. No he hadn't.

"How did you get my number?"

Soonyoung hesitates, "Uhh, I asked Mingyu."

Rolling his eyes, Jihoon nearly laughs, "Wow, the little shit."

Soonyoung chuckles, "To be honest, I thought he'd given me a dud and I'd end up calling some random old lady from Jeju."

"Unfortunately you got me instead."

The elder smiles. "So, how are you doing? I heard you got out of hospital today. That's quite late, isn't it?"

"Yeah, something else went wrong but I'm better now hopefully. Thanks for coming with me- to the hospital, I mean. I get really nervous in cars," Jihoon pauses, before saying something else with a slightly more lighthearted tone, "I didn't know you cared about me that much." He grins.

Soonyoung clears his throat, "I uh, I would've done it for any customer. I'm just nice like that," he adds.

Jihoon replies with a "Sure," and that's all he gets.

Soonyoung hears the line cut off unexpectedly, he pulls the phone from his ear and glances at it, but the screen has gone blank. He knits his brows together and purses his lips.

Jihoon presses the red button after a seconds thought and places his phone back on the table- this time he turns it over so as not to be disturbed again. He tries to stop himself grinning, managing a wavering smile with a confused laugh before he lies back, staring again at his blank ceiling.

What are you doing, heart.