it's shocking, just how easily insu can still read him, despite having not seen each other for what felt like years. yuwol couldn't stop himself from reacting, from wincing when insu pointed out that he's clearly lying. even after so long, it doesn't seem like he can hide much from insu—he wishes that wasn't the case, but it's also a testament to how long they've known one another. how deeply the two of them were intertwined in each other's lives back then.
as bitter as it might feel, it's also another reality check about their current situation right now. despite everything, it's still hard to communicate with the other boy. he wants to deny, tell insu that he's wrong and that he's completely fine—but he can't, all he can do is stand there awkwardly as insu clearly refutes him. states the facts without much hesitation, as if he knows how to pry into yuwol's brain. in a way, insu does, insu used to be the only one who could.
yuwol doesn't know how to respond, in the face of the insu he once knew. of course it's not always black and white, how they ended up had been a mess of emotions filled with fights that sometimes only felt one-sided—but that wasn't how they always were. before all this, insu had cared. before all this, insu could make yuwol believe that love can exist, for someone like him. in the face of that gentleness, yuwol finds himself at a loss—what is he supposed to say to that? what can he say?
"i guess you're right," he admits, taking back his things and slowly putting them into his bag. if he can't lie, then he supposes he shouldn't. "maybe i'm not... okay. but that... it's not really any of your concern, right? you kind of made that clear... last time." yuwol replies, taking in a sharp breath, before letting it out again. he doesn't want to start another argument, his voice is soft and his tone is meek—he's just stating what was already obvious. there's a reason why the two of them didn't work out.
all of a sudden though, insu's grabbing a hold of his wrist, dragging him along somewhere yuwol doesn't know. he blinks, taking a moment to register what just happened, before he's transported back to reality. "hold on, where are you taking me?" he asks, even though he has a feeling he won't get a straight answer from insu. not right now. "it's not that serious..." another lie, he keeps churning out lies, but what else can he do?
in the past insu wouldn't even so much as check on yuwol, usually one to just ignore what the other was feeling, though maybe it's because of his time spent away that he can't help but want to help the other deep down. it could also be because he sort of, more or less, realized how much of an ass he had been before. that's not to say that he's going to change his ways, especially since he saw nothing wrong with how he was now, though at least for yuwol he could try to be somewhat considerate in this situation.
for a moment he just stares at the other after yuwol speaks, slightly squinting as he thinks before giving a small shrug of his shoulders. "you're right, it really shouldn't be any of my concern." yuwol is in fact right. that's why he doesn't feel sorry for himself with the words that are spoken to him, rather he thinks back to the times when he wouldn't concern himself with a single damn thing that the other would do or even whatever would happen to him. "even so, my time away from here had me thinking some and now it sort of is. so what is it?"
he himself is still trying to figure out why he's dead set on figuring out what's wrong with yuwol, though he'd figure that all out later when he was back home in his own apartment. for now he would do his best to figure out what the hell was bothering the other male so much and making him give the expressions that he's currently giving. that's why, once he's managed to drag yuwol off to a more quiet section of the mall, he finally stops and abruptly turns, not letting go of the others wrist.
"so? you gonna tell me what's going on or do i have to actually interrogate you until you do?" he asks this, only then realizing that he still has a grip on the others wrist before finally letting go. insu then uses that same hand to run his fingers through his black hair, pushing stray strands of hair out from his eyes as he does so. "i have all day by the way so i can wait as long as i need to."



















