Pulling his backpack back up on his shoulders, Sin sends off a quick message for Niel to open the door already, nerd, or i’m eating all the snacks before he shuffles through his belongings to make sure he has everything. Sure, he was only supposed to be spending the night for one night, but Sin brought some stuff to give to Niel and his band-mates, courtesy of the other kids from HOME. And himself, too. Because it’s the polite thing to do to bring gifts whenever you visit someone’s place-- at least, that’s what Mommy taught him.

                                                                                  “Why are you bringing this up?!” “Haven’t you heard what people have been saying?”                                                                                    “Why should I care about what they’re saying?” “What if the rumours are true?”                                                                                   “They’re not! They’re called rumours for a reason!” “Just listen to me--”                                                                                   “Shut up! I don’t want to hear it. I’m leaving.” “Yah! Sin!”

He walks a considerate amount of distance before he finally has calmed down enough to acknowledge his surroundings but regrets it when he feels the colour of the night seeping into his skin through his thin long sleeved shirt. He wraps his arms around himself, trying to keep himself warm even though it barely does much for him, Maybe if he held onto his anger for a bit longer, he could seek shelter at a warmer location. But he dislikes anger, dislikes being angry. It reminds him too much of the past he left behind, of the violence that corrupted him at a young age. He can’t hold on to it for long but like hell is he going to turn tail now. 

Very rarely does this happen; that someone from HOME gets into fights with another and stalks out. Sin being one of the more frequent members.

He recognizes the area immediately, eyes narrowing as he reads the familiar sign of the cafe he and Niel visit frequently. It’s almost a surprise that he came here first instead of his usual spot of hiding, his feet unconsciously taking him somewhere the recesses of his mind deems safe. 

Which makes him pause, considering.

Without thinking, he pulls his phone out of his pocket -- glad he had it on his person before he stormed out -- and quickly pulls up his message app. He doesn’t have to look long through the recent contacts. The first one is a message from the person he’s purposely avoiding, sent merely minutes ago but he refuses to open it, to read it. And instead, goes to the second contact. 

Sin can’t help the small smile that quirks up the corners of his lips when he reads the name, already feeling himself warm up at the thought of the elder. He feels a bit bad when he realizes he never got to reply before the fight broke. It happens often, though, one -- or both -- of them not answering when they read the messages, simply because of busy schedules or someone calling to their attention. His guilt is lifted a little when he remembers they were talking about mundane topics so Niel probably isn’t waiting anxiously for his reply.

⚊⚊ ••• ⚊⚊•          바(니엘)라 ;;ㅇ3ㅇ)/)                                         [21:13] ⇾ hyung you know that cafe we like to visit ? can you meet me there ?

“Yah! Why do you have all the chips on your side?” Sin pouts up at the elder. He went to reach for one of the bags of chips, thinking it was still by his side, but his hand met the floor instead, causing him to look down in surprise. Only to see nothing. Which caused him to look around his area instead. But still, nothing! He only noticed where they all were when he heard the familiar crinkling of the bag coming from Niel’s side. All the bags of chips somehow managed to make their way to the other side of the elder. 

"I think you need to work out more,” Sin says cheekily as he presses his hand flat against the elder’s stomach, feeling the softness beneath the material. The blond male is hugging the elder from behind, letting his cheek rest against Niel’s shoulder blades like a koala hugging a tree. Mostly he likes that position because he can hear Niel’s heartbeat when he presses his good ear against the elder’s body. 

It’s calming and it reminds him that this is real, that Niel is alive and not just some figment of his imagination. He has to lift his head back in order to hear Niel’s response, even if he already misses the steady, sometimes faltering (especially when he moves his hands), song that Niel’s heart sings for him.

The night is a warm one as Sin moves around the streets, trying to find an open food store. He isn’t sure where these sudden cravings for rice balls came from but he knows he wants them as soon as possible.  “I hope I’m not pregnant,” he jokes to himself, despite the fact that he’s a virgin.

So far all the stores he visited that are still open were out, which makes him pout.

⚊⚊ ••• ⚊⚊•          +82     |     태현                                        [12:56] ⇾ i’m so hungry                                         [12:58] ⇾ what should i eat ?

Sin hides behind the corner of a building as he spots a swarm of people surrounding someone. He can’t make out who it is but he can tell people are screaming for their ‘oppa’ and asking for signatures or photos. He snaps a few photos of the scene, too, before opening the +82 app on his phone and clicking on the first name he sees.

Gnawing on the inside of his cheek, Sin feels nervous as he looks around the aisle. He came here on impulse, wanting to find a gift for his close friend to show how much he appreciates the things he’s done, but now he’s stuck on figuring out what to get him. Especially since he’s not sure if Niel would like whatever he gets him. Not to mention that Niel already has a lot of stuff. Maybe he shouldn’t... But he needs to, he doesn’t like feeling like he’s using the older boy.