chest is bare, tanned skin cast in the soft glow of neon that streams in from a cracked windowpane, shimmering with a sheen of sweat. each breath brings a new wave of nausea, features twisting in discomfort as his body threatens to lurch towards the bathroom. if it’s not that, it’s the shivers the wrack through him, shuddering through aching muscles as he twists in bed. hanbin won’t stand this feeling for much longer ― physical loneliness, that staggeringly powerful craving for simple proximity to another human being, someone who understands him, mingling with the insatiable need to fill that hollowness with opiods. typically these kinds of things weren’t up to debate for hanbin ; his body’s violent reactions made it increasingly difficult to argue. sparing himself a continuation of the timeless saga, the one in which he half - heartedly attempts to battle his own demons, he digs out his phone from beneath the mess of blankets he’s been tangled in all day to dial eungsoo’s number.
it RINGS … and RINGS … and RINGS ― until finally elder picks up. thank god. his own pitiful voice immediately spills through the speaker as the line connects, melancholy and withdrawal evident in his tone, “ hyung, can you .. come over ? i .. i don’t feel good. i’m sick, ” intonation would beg a stranger to ask his true intentions, but eungsoo need not ask ― he was all too familiar with this sickness. fingers rake through his hair to push unkempt bangs from his eyes, features twisting in a pained wince ( everything ached, down to the roots of his hair. )
“ i didn’t know who else to call, please. ”
a part of him doesn’t want what he knows eungsoo will bring, yet the other paces with anticipation. bare lift him out of the bed and it feels like he’s learning to walk again, movements stiff as he makes his way into the bathroom ; steps quicken as stomach lurches. “ i have to ― ” hasty good bye is punctuated by a muted heave, call ending as to not subject other to what followed.
the day had been slow and boring, eungsoo was stuck at home doing what was his only duty right now: taking care of his father's mother who was slowly fading away right in front of his very own eyes. though close once, back when he was nothing but a misunderstood child fighting the good fight, their paths had come to an end not long after he was taken away from family and locked up behind bars. his father convinced her that he was nothing but the devil itself when that was so far from the truth – unfortunately trusting her only son more than a troubled teen now sentenced to suffer the consequences of a crime he had committed when nothing else was an option. funny, how he was left with the burden that was taking care of someone so badly ill when she was the one who abandoned him in the first place. no empathy left for her, a part of him couldn't wait for the day she would pass away to finally set him free.
but this job of his was cut short for the night as he heard a familiar tone ringing in the kitchen. throwing a blanket over his sleeping grandmother before grabbing the empty plates from her bedside table, it took him a while to make his way to where the sound was coming from.
.... ✆ CALLER ID: YUK HANBIN.
call was accepted, but no words needed to leave his mouth before the younger one started talking. the two of them had known each other a while, met through a mutual friend or two and were brought closer due to a certain hobby they both shared. one that was no good, making people sick like hanbin was now when not done on a regular basis. the way he spoke sounded awfully familiar: eungsoo could practically feel the pain simply from listening to the other's voice. been there before, the call's content left him with only one option – he had to go. during their short conversation the only answer he ever gave him was a simple ‘ yes. ’ at the very end before the line was cut and he was put into action.
though often not willing to share what was his, going over to hanbin's place empty handed felt wrong. eungsoo was not too well educated on his current situation: whether he wanted to get clean or not, or if he simply had no money left to get what his body was so addicted to, but when getting a call so desperate it didn't really matter. if it wasn't for opiods, why would he go through the trouble of calling eungsoo? a small container with a few pills left inside was tucked into the depth of his pocket before grabbing a set of keys from where they were left before, it took him a total of five minutes to get out the door. lucky for hanbin, the distance between their apartments wasn't longer than a twelve minute walk either so a knock on the door could be heard in no longer than a total of seventeen minutes.