"How'd your visit with your mom go?" Wonho asked Changkyun, who shifted his eyes from left to right above Wonho's head.

"Uh, it, it went fine," he said before looking down at his desk.

"Oh, okay," Wonho said, blinking, but the opening of the classroom door saved him from attempting to make any more small talk.

Hyungwon entered the room, looking more tired than when he'd left. Wonho's shoulders tensed instinctively.

"How'd it go?" he asked after a moment before checking the clock. "You guys talked for a long time. They missed you a lot, huh?"

Hyungwon was quiet for a moment. Then, "No, I don't think so."

Wonho blinked. "Then...what took you so long?"

Hyungwon sat down at his desk, his eyes shifting over to the empty desk beside him that would always, in his mind, be Minhyuk's. "I don't know." Hyungwon seemed to sink down into his seat, become smaller.

"Are you feeling all right?" Wonho asked. He didn't want to pressure Hyungwon, but he knew that neither Shownu or Changkyun were close with Hyungwon, and he was the only person left who really cared about the older boy.

Hyungwon didn't respond, just laid his head on his desk.

***

When it was time to leave class for the day, everyone stood up except for Hyungwon, who remained sprawled across his desk. Wonho went over and gently shook him before sighing and picking him up. It scared him how easily he was able to lift Hyungwon, and it wasn't because he'd been getting stronger.

He laid Hyungwon on his bed before starting an exercise routine, trying to focus on sweating out a few calories rather than the issue at hand.

He felt like Hyungwon was his responsibility, but was that true? Kihyun seemed to think not.

A rustling of sheets some time later drew his focus, and he paused in the middle of a set of push-ups to glance over at Hyungwon's bed. Hyungwon was just starting to sit up and rub his eyes, his uniform hanging loosely on his thinning frame.

"Want to join me for a workout?" Wonho asked despite having already done most of the exercises that he could.

Hyungwon didn't say anything but got out of bed after a moment, sitting down on the ground next to Wonho, who had sat up with his back to his bed frame.

"What do you want to start with? Maybe some sit-ups?"

Hyungwon shrugged, and Wonho got in sit-up position, watching as Hyungwon slowly mimicked him.

"All right, let's go for tw- fifteen," Wonho said with a smile. He usually did sets in twenties, but he didn't want to put too much strain on Hyungwon's more slender form.

Hyungwon didn't speak but did the workout next to Wonho, shaking a bit from eleven onward, but Wonho let them take a short break before speaking up.

"All right, let's do ten push-ups," he suggested, and once again, Hyungwon copied his form and waited for Wonho to start. Wonho noted with worry how Hyungwon's arms were shaking right at the beginning, his body only trembling harder with each push-up.

Wonho dropped on the ground after eight, and Hyungwon paused.

"I can only do eight today," Wonho said, feigning exhaustion. He could honestly do twenty, thirty, forty more, but he didn't want to see Hyungwon hurt himself. Better to pretend that it was his limitation holding them back then let Hyungwon have his pride hurt.

Hyungwon slowly shifted his position so he was sitting with his back against Wonho's bed, and Wonho joined him.

"What's going on in your head right now?" Wonho asked.

There was a long moment of silence in which Wonho assumed that Hyungwon wasn't going to answer, but then his spoke up, his voice soft and rough. "I'm scared."

"Of what?" Wonho asked, trying not to sound invasive.

"Of being alone."

"Why?"

"Because I can't tell what's real and what's fake when I'm by myself."