solace.
@avtnero
junhong can’t breathe.
he can’t believe his luck– to be caught up in this on a day he hadn’t bothered to cover up properly after leaving practice. his hands are exposed, his arms, his neck– sweat breaks out on his forehead as he stays as far away from people as possible, dodging and weaving through the crowd agilely with as much grace as he could.
he didn’t want any part of this.
the moment someone brushes up against his side in the crowd, in the panic, he gasps the moment the other does and he ducks through the throng of people, risking a few bumps here and there just until he makes it through to a clear area. his breathing is heavy, eyes wide in panic and his breaths get shorter and shorter as he leans against a brick wall at the side of an alley. his entire body trembles, senses overloading as his eyes dart from side to side. the yelling, the pushing, the signs waving in the air–
everything is blurry.
his hands are shaking as he holds his phone to his ear, dialing the first number he thinks of– the one person he needs.
“h-hello? seung…seungyoun– i’m outside town hall, are you nearby, please tell me you’re nearby–”
they decided it best if he didn’t come into training today.
seungyoun rests his cheek on his table, eyes dull as they watch the scene unfold on the television screen - he’s wondering what the point of all of this is. why there are shouts and why people who are always going to be unhappy with something start fights that they cannot win. this is going to go nowhere; people shun everyone who is different.
he wants to turn the television off, but there’s nothing else to do. a riot isn’t his place and he knows better than to even think of going there with malcontent on his mind. seungyoun thinks more than he would admit about his future. he thinks about the things that netizens would write about him if they found out he was one of the people involved.
entertaining the thought to at least stave off some of his boredom, seungyoun groans when his phone starts to vibrate. he wonders if it’s yg, telling him to stay at home and to make sure to stay at home. maybe his brother calling to ask if he’s all right. but one look at the caller id has him brightening up, because it isn’t either of the two - it’s junhong, and seungyoun thinks that maybe, his day might clear up after all.
until he answers and hears the panic on the other end.
seungyoun’s already grabbing two jackets - one for himself, and one to wrap junhong in when he sees him. it’s like he can already see the problem without junhong explaining it, but there’s an unsettling, aggravated feeling resting somewhere in his gut. “ what do you think you’re doing there -” he spits out, hanging the extra jacket over his arm after shrugging into his own. “ i’m on my way. try to find an alley or something to hide in.”
in normal circumstances, junhong would’ve winced or flinched at the venom in seungyoun’s voice, even if he knew it was simply out of worry. but he doesn’t, eyes wide and teeth worrying indents into his lower lip as he hugs himself protectively, leaning as close to the harsh brick wall as possible. “i-- i am. i’m in an alley close by.”
his eyes are darting around, all of his nerves on edge, his paranoia at an all time high. his breath catches in his throat at the sound of loud footsteps, and he presses himself against the bricks, ignoring the way they dig into his back as he stares at the opening-- watching shadow after shadow run by.
“i...i’m sorry,” junhong mutters into the phone to keep himself busy, though his head is spinning. “i left really early this m-morning, i didn’t know this was happening.” he’s close to crying, his voice cracking as a shaky hand cards through his hair. “sorry-- sorry,” he slides down the wall roughly, sitting quietly as he bites his lip.
