pleased as punch.
( he thinks he runs into an ex backstage at a music show, but it turns out to be @idjuniper, and hanbyul can’t be more than happier. )
shock wears off in bits and pieces. leaves falling trees. petals from flowers. love from hearts. it peels from hanbyul’s face a beat at a time, takes the missing colour and returns it.
he has never been happier to see jua.
“shit. i thought you were… never mind.”
because he thought it was ellie he bumped into.
nonetheless, jua is a sight for sore eyes. a breath of fresh air. a rose among thorns. a friend in a sea of unfamiliar, strange faces. so, hanbyul musters a smile and is able to relax against a wall. a manager doesn’t stray far behind. thus, house arrest wages on. even on the way to the cafeteria for something to munch on. something to take his time and his mind off of things. while not worthwhile, it’s better than letting thoughts consume him. better than letting worry invade then multiply and scatter until he is nothing but a bag of flesh, bones and unspoken words and unshed fear.
jua is a good friend. someone he has come to trust. someone who has probably seen him on all sorts of days: good when he dated ellie—which served as the foundation of their friendship, bad when they broke up, and he was texting jua on random weekends asking how everything was. he stopped doing it now, choosing to focus on the positives in his life rather than the negatives. his friendship with jua is one of them. and he’s happy despite what happened, they remain friends.
the one good thing that came from that relationship. the one good relationship. the one good person. and this isn’t the bitterness talking or maybe it is.
he stands, arms crossed with a lopsided smile. there is relief brimming. “but hey, we haven’t seen each other in a while. how have you been?” for good reason or an excuse. he might see ellie and focusing on her meant more months of grieving in solitude. he can’t hurt himself like that anymore. refuses to. but friendships shouldn’t suffer because he won’t allow himself to be weakened and wrecked. “how’s life treating you?” better than him---hopefully.