Choi Jung Soo is Kim Rok Soo's friend.

Well, he can confidently say that they're brothers. Who cares if they're not blood related, Rok Soo's still his brother.

He'll punch anyone who says otherwise.

***

Choi Jung Soo was worried.

He woke up in the ungodly hour of 3 am, and he had planned to sleep again when he heard faint sobs from next to him.

His eyes widened as his head snapped to his roommate's general direction.

Rok Soo was whimpering like he was having a terrible nightmare. The scene alone made his heart clench.

He reached out, but stopped midway.

'W-what do I do...'

He couldn't bring himself to wake the other up, as he heard somewhere that nightmares are actually good for mental health.

It was said it helped people come into terms with their troubles. The brunet's face contorted in worry, his thoughts in shambles.

"Gasp!"

He watched as Rok Soo woke up with a jolt, terror visible in his eyes.

Jung Soo flinched and turned around immediately, the blanket hastily yanked towards himself.

'Eek.'

He had a feeling Rok Soo wouldn't appreciate being seen like that, so he promptly pretended to be asleep.

-shshsh

He snored for extra effect, his impeccable acting skills now reaching another level.

'Rok Soo is fooled, for sure. Hehe'

Inwardly giggling to himself, he paid utmost attention to the sounds the younger male was making.

He heard a sigh, and then the blanket rustling.

After that; silence, with only their breaths audible within the room. He thought that the other was sleeping, and so he turned around without much thought.

The result? Choi Jung Soo's heart nearly jumped out of his throat.

'Holy shit!'

He almost got caught.

'What was that???'

Why was his dongsaeng suddenly awake? He was supposed to be sleeping right? Right??

-Badump bad-dump

'The hell-'

Rok Soo was sitting there with his standard resting bitch face, and if he did not see his blank eyes, he would have shrieked for real.

Despite his stoic face, he could see the other's reddish-brown orbs shaking. 

'Rok Soo-yah...'

Despite wanting to just jump at the younger male with a 'booyah! spill yer thoughts ye mule!', he kept quiet, not wanting to give Rok Soo a heart attack.

He also didn't want to get slapped into tomorrow.

Choi Jung Soo watched while the sun gradually doused their room with yellow rays as the hour hand of the clock ticked by.

Worry bubbled in his stomach when Rok Soo began to move in a daze, eyes blank and hazy.

The brunet followed him around the house, not so different from how a puppy would stick their owners.

It would have been comical, had it not been for Jung Soo's scowl.

He huffed indignantly.

He never felt so far away even though he was right next to him all the time.

He hated it.

Of how helpless he was.

Of how Rok Soo felt like he was slipping away from him.

...was he that unreliable?

He was supposed to be his hyung, wasn't he?

He hateithateithateit-

-crash!

Jung Soo's head swivelled towards the other in an instant. His neck ached.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked as he ran over, a worried expression now etched on his face.

"Yes, just got distracted a bit."

Like usual, Rok Soo answered him flatly.

But unlike usual, he didn't look at him.

Jung Soo scowled again, this time deeper than the last. He crouched lower, eyes peering up at the other trying to make him face him properly.

He sighed at Rok Soo who visibly intended to focus at the shards of glass at their feet.

"Right. So, what's up? Did someone bully my dear dongsaeng behind my back again?"

He spoke in a joking tone, but the underlying growl indicated that he was ready to jump at whoever dared to talk smack about his precious dongsaeng.

He was willing to die for him. For him and his hyung, Lee Soo Hyuk. Over and over, even if his own soul breaks apart-

-swoosh!

He quickly evaded Rok Soo's fist coming straight for his face, the brunet forcefully dragged out of his own thoughts by the cranky boy before him.

"You're not my hyung." He spoke flatly, as if he did not just try to break his nose.

Jung Soo nearly laughed aloud at the default response.

'How vicious.'

The younger male then continued with a sliver of annoyance painting his words.

"Besides, the fuck you mean with 'again'? Nobody bullies no one."

"Uh-huh." he hummed and propped his chin on his hands.

Internally, he shook his head for this oblivious punk who's almost so obviously being harassed by others for being himself. 

Well, he was an infuriating punk. But that's what makes Rok Soo, Rok soo, and he loved it despite the exasperation that inevitably came after, for he was family.

He cheerily smiled and helped Rok Soo clean the spilled coffee with a towel. He couldn't possibly let his dongsaeng pitifully struggle alone, could he?

Chuckling to himself, he beamed, his smile bright as a newly installed lightbulb.

Rok Soo, who saw his face, paused and seemed to have withered even further.

'What was up with that?'

"Is something wrong?" He inquired with a tilt of his head.

"...Just... how the fuck are you so cheerful in the morning? Cut it out, will you?"

At that, he laughed and replied,

"Today is chicken day, mah dude~! Today is a good day!"

Rok Soo groaned in response to his loud cheer, the younger visibly looking as drained as an old iguana.

"Cheer up~ Soo Hyuk is cooking today!"

"I don't want to hang out."

There was a slight pang in his chest. He internally wailed, and proceeded to drag Rok Soo with him as payback for his pained heart.

The sighs he elicited from him was worth it.

***

As they entered the kitchen, Choi Jung Soo's nose immediately caught a whiff of the food their hyung was cooking.

A giddy smile crept up his face, his eyes sparkling like a child's. He quickly pulled Rok Soo along with him, bounding towards the table in an overexcited manner.

"Well aren't you sonics? I haven't even finished preparing." 

Soo Hyuk hyung chuckled, visibly amused at the two of them. The brunet's eyes sparkled even more, an eager exclamation bubbling out of him.

"We'll help! We'll help!!"

He was about to jump forward, but a pull at the back of his shirt stopped him from doing so. He questioningly looked at Rok Soo with a pout.

'What now?'

The younger male merely looked at him with a deadpan, as if he was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"Nope. Not happening. You're going to sit your butt on that chair and be still, mister. We don't need the kitchen to go ablaze so early in the morning." Rok Soo said and pushed him down on a chair.

Tch.

This is discrimination.

He heard their hyung chuckle again from the sidelines, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was Santa Claus in his past life.

That aside...

He cannot rest his case!

"It only happened once!" he declared in indignation.

'And it wasn't that bad!'

"And we don't need for it to be repeated." Rok Soo replied with a scrutinizing look.

"How mean!"

"Now, now, you infernal twins. Stop bickering among yourself. Jung Soo, you can have the brain cells for today."

He knew it! Lee Soo Hyuk is the best! The greatest!

"Keke."

He cheered and endlessly praised him inside his mind, giddy smile still in place. 

The clock kept ticking by, the sound mixed with the scent of food lulling him to a drowsy state. It was so nice, the way the sun peeked through the windows and made his back feel warm along with the two's bustling in the kitchen. 

He was only snapped out of his trance when-

-splash!

"AHHHHHHHHH! Kim Rok Soo! Stop spilling it!!"

-Rok Soo poured the sauce over the chicken. The bird is ruined!

"Then don't eat." 

The punk replied to him flatly once again as if he was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"Just eat, it's only water anyway." 

"Oh woe is me!"

He sighed loudly, continuing his dramatic act and sorrow over the food. Quite a while passed, with countless dramatic phrases recited, when he noticed Rok Soo being awfully quiet.

Well, he was normally quiet, but where did his cheekiness go? The absence of the curt replies made him feel... off.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

He reached out towards the raven head beside him, concern buzzing inside his head like a swarm of mosquitoes.

"Hmm? Nothing."

- Clang!!

The two older males dropped their utensils when they heard Rok Soo's reply. 'Nothing' always means something, after all.

"Right. So, it's something serious then."

"Rok Soo is like a depressed noodle, hyung!" 

He jabbed, well aware that the comparison would irk the other.  At least, he's certain he would reply to this.

"I am not like a depressed noodle." 

Kim Rok Soo, as expected, replied with a hint of exasperation along with an emphasis on 'not' as he hit the arm that was on his shoulder.

"And don't speak like I'm not here, you moron."

"Psh. As if talking behind your back wouldn't reach your ear one way or another. You're like a bat."

He laughed, body tense as he slightly grit his teeth.

"I ain't biting that 'it's nothing' bullshit. You're quite out of it since morning, Rok Soo. " His hands slightly twitched, his nails digging into the palm of his hands.

"What's been bothering you?"

"...It's just a stupid nightmare."

"Do you mind telling us what's it about?" Soo Hyuk asked carefully, the two's eyes trained on Rok Soo like hawks.

His answer was not what Jung Soo expected.

"Oh, you know. Your death, Jung Soo's death, and mine. The usual." Rok Soo shrugged, seemingly talking about something meager like the weather.

'Excuse me?'

"The fuck you mean 'the usual'??" his voice rose a pitch as his nails dug deeper into his hand.

He was aggravated.

"I mean, I rarely even dreamed, but once I do, that kind of stuff wasn't all that absurd. But anyway-"

He's doing that again...

...

..

.

.

.

.

Choi Jung Soo saw red.