Chapter Text
A dull pain woke Hyunjin from his far too short and fitful slumber. His temples throbbed, and the blood in his ears screamed louder than the music in the club he had found himself in the night prior. Squinting and hissing at the brightness of the room, he glanced at the clock. 11:30. Shit. He’d missed his first three classes. Again. Oh, well. No point in joining now, he might as well stay here and wallow in his own misery.
But the universe had other plans. All too soon, and much too loudly, the front door clattered open and Hyunjin’s roommate strolled in carrying several heavy-looking bags which Hyunjin could only assume to be this week’s groceries. He knew that he really should have been the one to visit the shops this time, and last time, and the time before that. He’d just never found the time. Or, rather, he’d filled that time with other things instead.
“Good morning, Jinnie,” Chan’s bright voice pulled Hyunjin out of his thoughts, directly contrasting with the dull cloudiness of his mind.
“Yeah, and what’s so good about it?” Hyunjin grumbled, finally sitting up with a pained groan. He wasn’t usually this much of an asshole, especially not to his best friend, but he felt like shit and didn’t exactly have the energy to return Chan’s bright smile. His body aches were killing him from passing out on the barely long enough couch in the living room.
“Good to see you alive.” Chan’s laughter boomed brightly, instantly saturating the grayness of the room. “Anyways, I’ve just been to the shops, and I brought you some soup to help your very obvious hangover,” Chan gleefully placed a piping hot paper cup on the coffee table in front of Hyunjin before turning back to unpack the rest of the groceries.
“You really don’t have to do that. It was my turn to go. Or at least if you’re gonna make the trip, let me buy my own shit.” Hyunjin scoffed at his friend. Although, he eyed the soup more intently than he’d like to admit, his mind betraying the words that left his mouth. He’d been absolutely starving, but also dead set on not letting Chan continue to mother him this way— the way he had for years. “Besides that, I’m not even hungry,” he lied. But once again, the universe had other plans. As if on cue, his stomach let out a rumble so loud it’s surprising that the whole building didn’t shake with it.
“Is that so?” Chan didn’t look away from the grocery bags he’d been unpacking, but Hyunjin could feel the smug smirk his friend was trying to hide even without seeing it. With another earth-shaking grumble of his stomach, this time enough to make his whole body surge in pain, Hyunjin closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his temples. The sound of the kettle squealing brought him out of his daze, and when he opened them again, there was Chan-- standing there with a spoon in his outstretched hand and a warm and goofy smile on his face, which actually made Hyunjin smile a bit too. Hyunjin really did appreciate Chan, even when he insisted on mothering the boy every second of the day. Which, to be honest, he’d found more comfort in than he liked to admit. Finally accepting defeat, he accepts the spoon from Chan’s hand and instantly digs in. The steaming broth made its way through his body, instantly warming him from head to toe. With an appreciative sigh, he abandoned the spoon altogether, tilting the side of the paper cup to his mouth and swallowing the remaining soup within seconds.
“See? I told you it would help.” Chan laughed and sat down in the armchair across from his friend, placing one steaming mug of tea on the table before sipping from his own. “Now let’s try this again, shall we? Good morning, Jinnie,” he beamed, somehow even more enthusiastically than the first time. Hyunjin simply didn’t understand how his best friend could consistently exude so much energy, especially knowing how he almost never slept. At his remark, Hyunjin simply rolled his eyes, doing his best to hide the tiny smile that found its way to the corners of his mouth.
“Good morning, Channie,” he dramatically sighed, reaching forward to take the tea from the table.
“Thank you.” Chan laughed once more. And, to his own surprise, Hyunjin laughed too. Whatever was in that soup, Hyunjin was glad for it. His head felt clearer, and the room wasn’t spinning nearly as much anymore.
“Yeah, yeah.” Hyunjin found himself rolling his eyes once more, again with the slightest of smiles. “But you still shouldn’t have gone to the shops without me, and paid for my things nonetheless.” Although grateful, Hyunjin really did feel bad that Chan went through the trouble for him when he was knowingly the irresponsible one.
“Oh, please. You know as well as I do that you’d have gotten distracted on the way and ended up either overworking yourself at the studio again or brooding under a tree at the park like some romance film protagonist. If I don’t keep you fed, who will?” Chan scoffed, unsuccessfully trying to hide a smile.
“Damn, way to call me out unprovoked there, Channie.” Hyunjin chuckled and pressed the mug to his lips. He knew his friend was right, though. He couldn’t help it. Dancing had always made him feel better. Dancing made the entire world melt away as if none of his problems ever existed or could ever exist again. Dancing made him free. It was his only escape from this hellscape of a school. School. Fuck. Glancing at the clock once more, he let out a long groan.
Simultaneously, Chan snickered. “Seems you didn’t quite sleep long enough to avoid our final class of the day. Come on, Jinnie.”
“Let’s not, and pretend we did?” Hyunjin offered a hopeful grin.
“Absolutely not. You’ve already missed your first set, and as your best friend it’s my job to make sure you stay at least somewhat socialized.” And with that, to Hyunjin’s dismay, Chan yanked him to his feet. “And stop pouting, you look like a squirrel.” Hyjnjin jerked his wrist away from Chan’s grip with an offended gasp. Which, of course, only caused the smile on his roommate’s face to grow wider.