“Telling the truth and making someone cry is better than telling a lie and making someone smile.”

-- Paulo Coelho

Seunghoon had entered the Cat House with the simple desire of playing computer games. He had been shooting for a variety show the entire day and had been looking forward to a relaxing night of Overwatch only to be greeted by a very tense lover's spat between his bandmates.

"You're so ing inconsiderate!" Jinwoo snapped. "You could have at least told me where you were. I was ing worried!" The dancer observed his friend. Red eyes. Shaking hands. He knew the older man well enough to know when he was emotional and deeply hurting. He rarely saw Jinwoo like this.

"It's not my damn fault you've suddenly become clingy and demanding. We don't need to monitor each other. Our managers do enough of that for the both of us!" Mino shouted back, his words a bit slurred. Clearly drunk and without filters, Hoony thought.

Jinwoo was about to retort back but stopped himself. Their hyung took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Doing his best to calm down. They have had this conversation a million times. Both of them tiptoeing around the real issue. Too scared to face it head on - masking it with loud voices and senseless arguements.

"Mino" he said calmly, to the rapper's surprise.

"Can you just tell me what's going on?" Jinwoo asked, exhaustion and desperation evident from his voice.

The rapper gave his lover a guilty glance and looked away. The courage and aggression from a few minutes ago quickly slipping away.

"Just tell me. Please. I can take it." his hyung continued. "I'd really rather know than be in limbo."

The truth was Jinwoo already knew. He knew the rapper from the back of his hand and could easy read his lover without words.

So of course, he knew. But he didn't want to see it. Believe it.

Until that night, Jinwoo did not had the strength to hear the truth.

Hoony began to retreat towards the door. Hoping to leave unnoticed and give his friends privacy when Mino suddenly spoke up.

"I don't think I love you anymore" he uttered without a pause or stutter.

The dancer stopped midstep, surprised by Mino's blunt and cold words. Seunghoon could hear Jinwoo's heart breaking. He looked back and stared at his friend, feeling his agony even from afar.

"I don't feel anything anymore" the rapper continued softly, hoping his tone would lessen the blow of his words.

"And I'm tired. I'm really emotionally drained. You keep depending on me for comfort when you're sad or validation when you're insecure, but you don't give back. You just keeping taking, you know?"

As the rapper talked, the pain took over Jinwoo's body. The tears that threatened to fall. His lips tightly pressed together, trying not to tremble. The rising and falling of his chest as he struggled to breath. The clenched fists.

Hoony wanted nothing more than to run towards his friend and hold him to keep him from falling apart. Knowing fully well the older man was mustering all his strength to keep it together.

While the dancer stared, the rapper could barely look at his lover's face. His own face riddled with remorse and guilt. It was clearly tormenting him. The last thing Mino had ever wanted was to hurt Jinwoo. But this had been going on for months. It was unfair to keep pretending.

"Fine" Jinwoo finally spoke up. "Let's breakup." he said firmly.

And without giving his ex-lover a chance to speak, he escaped to his room and finally allowed himself to breakdown.

Leaving Mino alone in the living room who had now crumpled and dropped to the floor. His face burried in his hands, muffling the sound of his own grief.

Hoony quietly slipped out of the apartment, knowing both men wanted nothing more than to be alone.

TBC