Chapter Text
He came back yesterday night.
Sion.
As Yushi heard.
There was no message, no warning, but just a name dropped casually like he hadn’t vanished without explanation. Like four years hadn’t passed in silence.
The thing about silence is that it teaches you not to expect anything.
His parents were both at the Ohs – their neighbours – for Sion’s ‘Welcome Home’ party. Yushi could hear the faint laughter from the adults including Sion because he’s probably all grown up already.
If it was the Yushi back then – the Yushi four years ago – he’d most probably join the fun and stick to Sion the entire time. They were inseparable back then, stuck to the hip – until Sion went away to study in Berlin.
But, this was the Yushi now.
Lounging on the couch, doomscrolling on TikTok, hoping to mute the sounds from next door.
He was invited.
He just rejected .
He wasn’t going to be home early enough anyway.
A video appeared on his screen as he scrolled through, it’s an influencer who’s mostly known for his incredible dance challenges. Yushi liked this influencer, so he wanted to learn whatever new dance challenge said person participated in.
Suddenly, another person appeared beside the influencer.
Sion.
Dancing along.
Sion hated dancing though?
Who cares?
Yushi swiped his finger up, wanting to not care about the sudden appearance of the man.
But, his mind still lingered.
Sion looked different. He most definitely did, or course, it’s been four years. Sion probably has changed a lot. He has changed a lot. Yushi expected this – the change – but who cares, right?
Yushi has changed too, he’s so much different from when he last saw Sion. Yushi knew he had grown a lot, gotten more mature and intelligent.
Did Sion expect his change too – if he ever expected anything. Maybe he thought Yushi stayed the same? Or maybe h e thought they could go back to as it was.
Yushi didn’t care, though.
It was six in the evening when Yushi finally started walking back home. Late, yes, but at least he’s returning home today, but that resulted in him having to take the short path. He needed to be home by dinner tonight because he promised his mother he’d be there.
It was a deal they made when Yushi begged her to sleep over at Riku’s the night before, not wanting to hear Sion’s constant laughter from next door. It annoyed him so much, but not in a sense of it being noisy, but in a sense of it being Sion’s.
A sudden smell of freshly baked goods attracted him, looking up to catch a glimpse of what was on The Pastry of The Day for today. Maybe he could buy one for his mother as a thank you for the wonderful dinner he was about to have.
As he was about to take a step towards the cafe, a figure in a black hoodie and loose jeans caught his attention. He was holding a cup of warm coffee, leaning against the wall.
Yushi anticipated this, but he did not expect it to be today.
The man in black looked up, meeting Yushi’s eyes.
Sion.
There was no drama in it. No music swelling, no sudden sharp inhale. Just two people seeing each other again, after years of silence and a thousand things unsaid.
He didn’t smile.
Neither did Yushi.
Yet, his name was said.
“Yushi,”
His throat felt tight, he wasn’t hurt or sick, he just felt the pressure of not wanting to speak, yet he nodded, “Hyung,”
The silence engulfed them yet again, waiting for each other to break it. Say something, although Yushi begged quietly that none of them would break it.
Maybe it’d be better if Yushi were to start walking again. So, he adjusted the strap of his backpack, getting comfortable before even taking a step, yet –
“You’re still in school?”
Yushi’s eyes glanced sideways, expressionless on the surface but thick with a silent contempt. He wanted to reply with ‘Really, are you serious?’ , but he couldn't find the will in him to retaliate like that.
“I’m still eighteen,” Flat, no intonation, no feeling.
Then, Yushi started his journey back home again with a dull ache settling in his heart.
It was almost seven when he reached home to which he silently cheered as he unlocked the door open – he’s still in time for dinner!
“Yushi, you’re later than usual!”
They ate dinner like how they usually did, small chatter, aggressive approving head nods at his mother’s exquisite cooking and the story of the day.
Yet, this time around, it wasn’t a story.
More like a –
“Yushi, have you met Sion yet?” his mother suddenly brought up the dreaded topic of Sion.
“No.” He did.
Collective sighs from both his parents made him look up from his food, a mixture of annoyance and anxiety storming in him when he saw his father put down his fork and clasping his hands together.
“Yushi,” the tone of his mother is gentle , yet he couldn’t find himself slipping into comfort this time, “How long will you ignore Sion? I mean, he’s already home,”
Yushi slowed down on his chewing, hoping that it could stall enough time for him to not answer and for his mother to change the topic. But, he knew those efforts would be in vain. His mother is a persistent one. “Hm, Yushi?”
“I’m not ignoring him,”
“You are,”
Yushi stared down onto his lap, watching as his thumbs fiddled with each other, a habit he had developed whenever he’s anxious or nervous. He bit his lips, hoping that his ability to talk would’ve vanished right then and there.
The silence has gotten thicker, a rare occurrence at the Tokuno’s dinner table, which ended with his father taking the last word, “You’re supposed to be more matured, Yushi,”
Matured.
Yeah, he did get mature.
And he knew well that even his maturity would agree that ignoring Sion’s wholeself is the right thing to do.
“Yushi,”
He hated it when his father used that tone.
“Clarity begins where resentment ends,”
“Yu-chan!”
Yushi smiled upon hearing the voice that just called out to him, at least that’s someone who he could rely on these days – someone he could trust, someone he could seek refuge in, someone so comforting, someone who doesn’t know Sion.
“I think I’m in love!”
Riku said as he draped himself over Yushi’s lap in a dramatic sense, catching the attention of several people around them, but who was he to care, he had something more important to break to Yushi, “He said I looked pretty. HE SAID I LOOKED PRETTY, YU-CHAN,”
Yushi squinted his eyes as his head turned away, trying to slow down the volume of the overly excited Riku that was still laying on his lap. His hand unconsciously slapped onto Riku’s mouth, an attempt at shutting the man up, but it was immediately pulled away as Riku started spilling out his story about his crush, “We were talking in the dance room when he asked me to show him the last move because he didn’t get it, and then he just started to–”
“– Shut up, please,” Yushi placed both his hands on top of Riku’s blabbering lips, “See, silence suits you better,”
Riku shot him a glare, pissed off that his best friend had betrayed him by cutting off his story about his one and only beloved. He immediately sat back up from his position earlier, sulking at Yushi.
“Riku, you’re weird,”
“Like
you’re
normal,”
“At lea–” Before Yushi could even finish the sentence, he heard a faint shout coming from the field, calling for the soccer team.
“See you after training,” was all Yushi said before dashing off to the field, ready and fired up for the long training session for today.
This was routine for the two boys.
Go to school together, classes together, eat together and then they separate when Yushi goes to soccer and Riku to volleyball, but they wait for each other to walk home together. And they’ll see whose house will come up first depending on the route they choose that day.
Today was another intense training, but Yushi’s used to it. As the striker, he has to go through these immense and hardcore drills or he wouldn’t be able to score anything – especially with the interstates coming up.
They took a short ten minute break, recharging the energy for another round of exhausting drillings. Yushi was gulping on a mineral water he bought from the vending machine near the benches, hydrating his throat that dried up in the middle of dribbling.
He looked over to the indoor gymnasium where the volleyball practice was held, he saw Riku spiking a ball that was smacked towards him. Volleyball looked fun, but Yushi knew he wouldn’t be able to jump high enough to spike a ball
His eyes trailed over to the opening to the field, which was just a few skips away from the benches. He saw a familiar figure standing there in a green shirt and baggy jeans, he was observing the field intensely.
If Yushi didn’t know him, he’d think that that man was someone working for the interstate competition.
Unfortunately, Yushi knew who he was.
But, Yushi chose to ignore.
“Break’s up, get back here!” The team captain called his teammates back onto the field to continue the training.
Yushi was back on the field, kicking, dribbling and passing the ball, even scoring a goal. Yet, his eyes always drifted back to the presence at the field’s opening as if wanting to gain approval of his skills. Or was the presence itself distracting?
It’s half past five. Training concluded a few minutes ago, a bit later than the volley team so there was a Maeda Riku standing near the field entrance with his duffel bag decorated with Kuromi keychains.
As Yushi approached the boy with Kuromi merchandise, the figure from earlier caught his eyes. He was standing right beside Riku, just a few centimeters away and he was staring directly at Yushi.
Ignore, ignore, ignore.
“Yu-chan!”
Yushi smiled as Riku approached him with open enthusiasm. They just finished practice, all sweaty and tired, yet Riku still managed to maintain his energy with pure excitement to tell Yushi about the events that had happened during practice. Yushi was also recharged from the sudden surge of energy Riku emitted. His enthusiasm was infectious.
Although, his eyes did trail to the side, making eye contact with the man in the green shirt. Yushi, you said to ignore.
Yushi knew he had to ignore, but his eyes still maintained eye contact as all moves became static. Sion looked at him with such sorrowful eyes, but there was a glint of anger glazing over it – What was he so angry about?
Yushi paid no mind as he walked away with Riku, paying attention to the other boy’s story about how his crush had decided to watch the practice, “– And then when I managed to spike it back, he stood up and cheered. Oh my god, I think I like him more, Yu-chan!”
This time around, they decided to choose the long way back home, which means he’ll have to drop Riku off first. They walked hand in hand, something they found comfort in after long days of responsibilities as they chatted and joked around about the things that happened today.
“See you tomorrow, Riku-chan,” Yushi waved as Riku entered his house, “Don’t forget the assignment Mr Kim gave, I’m not letting you copy mine,”
And with that, Yushi started walking home slowly, wanting to indulge in his alone-time before spending the rest of his night with his family and his homework.
It was getting darker with every step Yushi took. He reached the playground area, most of the things already rusted and clearly not well-maintained. Kids these days don’t even play here anymore, they’ve got their internet.
Yushi stared at the swings that were rocked lazily with the slight gust of wind. Maybe it’s his mind playing games with him because he’s hearing faint laughter of children coming from the playground. One of the laughter sounded too familiar.
“Hyung! Stop laughing!” Seven- year-old Yushi said as he crossed his arms, sulking at the older boy after Yushi dropped his lollipop on the ground, “It’s not funny!”
The boy with black hair just laughed even more at the seven year old’s actions, finding it cute. Sion was known for his loud and uncontrollable laughing, it was his trademark since he was kindergarten. The kid just loved laughing.
But, he also loved Yushi – something that was also his trademark. Ever since they met back in kindergarten, they were inseparable. Sion did anything for Yushi and Yushi would always stick to Sion, no matter the occasion.
“Here,” Sion pulled out a lollipop from his pocket, motioning for Yushi to take it, “I don’t like grape flavour, so you can have it,”
Yushi’s eyes gleamed with joy when he took the lollipop from Sion. Grape was his favourite flavour. Sion knew him quite well.
He didn’t even realise that he was already sitting on one of the swings – specifically the left one because Sion usually sat on the right. Only this time, it was only him.
He rocked gently on the swings, gaining a bit of movement as he reminisced about the moments from before, the times when he spent all day in this playground with Sion. A small smile formed on his face as he remembered all the funny things that happened back then.
When Yushi injured himself and left the scar on his face, when Sion fell down the slide upside down or when the girl that liked Sion confessed with a bucket of cotton candy. It was funny, because Sion rejected her by saying that he only liked boys without the front tooth which was even more funny because Yushi just lost his front tooth the day before.
And he also remembered when he got chicken pox when he was ten, he could still feel how terrible it was back then.
Yet, Oh Sion was still waiting beside him, talking and chatting as always because he’s basically immune to chickenpox since he already got it way back then, so, he could just hang around with the disease. At one point, he even slept near Yushi’s bed just to accompany him throughout the fever.
Oh.
Yushi missed Sion.
A lot.
Maybe he should forgive Sion.
“Yushi?”
Yushi froze on the spot after hearing his name being said. The voice sounded very familiar, but at the same time it sounded different – Yushi blamed it on adulting.
“Yushi,” this time the voice sounded gentler, as if it’s scared that Yushi would break if it was any louder, “What are you doing here?”
Yushi stayed quiet as he stared at the ground, not wanting to see whoever was beside him. He wanted to continue his ignore ignore ignore strategy, completely trying to dissolve the presence beside him.
He heard a small metallic squeak, indicating that the vacant swing next to him was occupied by a certain someone. Then once again, silence accompanied them. Yushi was completely paralyzed, not knowing what to do or what to say. All that he could think of was sitting still and hoping that the other goes away.
“You know,” a small chuckle came from the man beside him, “I come here every day now,”
Yushi doesn’t care.
“I like to remember the old times,”
Yushi does not care.
“Remember?”
Yushi. Does. Not. Care.
“We used to race each other on who could go the highest and I’d always win. But, we’d just announce you as the winner because you’d get so sad an–”
“Sion, stop,”
Silence.
Yushi was now standing in front of the swing, shoulders tensed as he tried to control his breathing. His fist was now in a tight grip, trying to not let out all his feelings at the moment.
Taking in a big breath, he started his walk back home again.
He should run away from all this, from the playground, from Sion.
Light footsteps as his pace increased from wanting to distance himself from the playground as far as possible. Yushi hated that playground now, he hated everything in it, the slide, the swings, the memories – Oh Sion.
“Yushi, wait!”
He had.
For many years.
“Yu-chan? Are you okay?”
Panic.
Something he hasn’t felt in a while.
He used to deal with these often back then, constantly feeling anxious or nervous to the point his breathing gets unstable and his vision blurry.
Usually, there’d be someone that would help him calm down.
But, this time, that someone was the reason this feeling appeared in the first place.
“Yu-chan?”
Right, he has Riku now.
“Wait, I’ll try to run there as fast as I can,”
“Don’t” Yushi said in between the heavy pants, trying to take in deep breaths. He could feel sweat forming on his head, feeling uncomfortable as he felt that his jersey was suddenly a bit too tight on him.
“Where’s your mom?”
“Work,”
“Oh no,” Yushi could hear shuffling from the other line, “I’m coming, try and hold on,”
And with that the line ended immediately.
Yushi felt worse now, knowing that he just caused trouble to his friend. He shouldn’t have called Riku, he shouldn’t have even notified Riku that he was feeling terrible.
He could feel the tears swelling in his eyes, falling one by one and staining his red cheeks. Shit, he hasn’t felt like this since three years ago.
And within a few minutes, his door burst open with a frantic Riku shuffling to his side, putting a hand on Yushi’s chest as he said a few words to calm him down.
But, he couldn’t hear what Riku was telling him, he couldn’t even hear Riku. This was frustrating, it frustrated him even more.
But, he could speak, he definitely could speak, he knew that.
“Riku,” a broken voice, he was sure his voice sounded willowed, sounded sorrowful, but who was he to care, “Riku, it hurts,”
Then, he could hear, he could hear Riku consoling him, he could feel Riku’s hand on his chest, “Yu-chan, take a deep breath, I’m here with you,”
“Riku,”
“Yushi,”
Yushi realised that his breathing had gotten slower, more steady than before, but he could feel his heartbeat still beating fast because it still hurt, everything still hurt.
He had calmed down, but now he was having a full meltdown, tears streaming down his face as his broken cries filled his room, “Riku-chan, I hate everything,”
All Riku could do was pull Yushi near to him and rest him on his chest, rocking gently and forward as he whispers comforting words to his best friend, “Yu-chan, it’s fine, everything will be okay,”
School the next day was unbearable.
Especially when Yushi was constantly dazed, losing focus and just being out of it most of the time. Even if he was snapped back to reality, he would eventually doze off in a few minutes.
His mind was not in an okay state, his thoughts continuously tracing back to the moments of yesterday, where he broke down to the point Riku had to come over and calm him down. He was a bit embarrassed that Riku saw his vulnerability last night, but hey it was bound to happen.
Today, also, a rare occurrence has also happened – Maeda Riku writing notes diligently in classes. He was also answering questions that required volunteering – and he got them right! Riku said that it was only to cover Yushi’s preoccupied mind that’s refraining him from writing down notes himself, but Yushi was proud of Riku nonetheless.
Yushi cursed at himself throughout the whole day for being extremely absentminded, he hated himself for this. He’s chasing a scholarship, goddamnit, he should get his head back in the game if he wants one.
It’s not completely his fault that his mind keeps on drifting away to the scenes of yesterday – specifically the one that included Oh Sion. The words he said. The way he said it. The tone of his voice and the clarity of his actions. Sion was just sitting there yet he made such a big impact on Yushi’s mind, living in his head rent free.
The bell for the last class rang, which means that Yushi had to go attend soccer training as usual, only this time his coach had announced that training will be much longer due to tomorrow being a public holiday and he couldn’t take a lot of the student’s time out respect to the school holidays.
Yushi doesn’t mind. This meant that he was able to come back home late and immediately fall asleep without having to hear Sion’s voice before surrendering to deep slumber. Sion had a new habit these few days, Yushi saw. He constantly played music – RnB, jazzy – you get the vibe. And he played it loud.
Yushi wouldn’t give a single care.
The problem is that Sion’s room was right opposite Yushi's and they both have big windows each. So, the music traveled directly into his room and it’s just irritating.
And Yushi knew Sion did it on purpose.
He knew that this was Sion’s dirty tactic to get him to talk to Sion – which will never happen in a thousand years!
Training concluded at exactly 7, but Yushi had to stay back and wait for Riku – whose volley training ended a bit later than him. This led him to get back home at 8, since they stopped by the convenience store to stock up on some sweets for tomorrow.
Yushi entered his house, expecting a welcome back home from his parents – but he was met with complete silence, to which he quickly pulled his phone and read the latest text messages from his mother.
im following your dad to his work trip for a couple of days.
turns out i have a meeting near to his work area tomorrow
so we’ll be away for a few days
i cooked something so pls eat
u can order food when ur hungry though
[6:27]
Great.
Now he’s home alone.
Wait –
He’s home alone!
He had planned many different things now that he just realized that he was home alone. Maybe he could hold a party, maybe a big party where he can invite his whole school – only the cool kids though – Yushi doesn’t mix in with the weird ones, he’s cool with them, just not very party material.
But, since tomorrow is a school holiday, maybe he could just ask Riku to come join along for a mini sleepover. Maybe he could even ask Daeyoung to come along – since Riku kept on bugging Yushi about him. He’s close enough with Daeyoung to ask him to join a small sleepover. And he could also invite Sakuya and Ryo! Sakuya’s a close friend during soccer practice, so he usually met him everyday, but Ryo on the other hand was a rare sight. It’s as if searching for a four leaf clover among a field of tall grass.
Oh, Yushi’s just so excited that he got the whole house to himself!
Or maybe, maybe he should just calm down and use this time to rest? He did just come back from intense training from 3 until 7. That’s like four hours of moving around, jumping and kicking – he wondered why he came to like this sport.
Or maybe he could–
Knock, knock, knock.
Yushi jumped back from the front door, startled at the sudden aggressive knock on the door. He put his hand on his heart, feeling his heartbeat increasing from the shock. Who was at the door?
He hesitantly walked towards it, reaching for the doorknob before twisting it ever so slowly. The door cracked open and a pretty tall person fell upon Yushi’s small frame to which he let out a surprised yelp from the sudden weight being pushed on him.
He was trying to push the person off of him, feeling that the weight was too heavy on him. He is an athlete, but not a weightlifter! What made it a million times worse was there was a weird smell emitting from him – one that Yushi could identify even if it was very faint. Thank god for underage drinking, right?
“Yushi …”
Yushi froze underneath the man on top of him after hearing the slurry voice that just voiced out his name. He recognized this voice.
He looked down at the man’s jawline – his assumption verified.
“Yushi .. I’m sorry,”
Yeah, right.
Suddenly, he felt a damp patch on his shoulders along with the sound of small broken sobbing – Was Sion crying?
“I miss you so much, Yushi,”
Ignore ignore ignore
Yushi wanted to implement his strategy right now – but the problem is that Sion was on top of him so Yushi couldn’t quite just ignore his whole presence since he was starting to get a little exhausted holding up the older man’s weight.
“Yushi, please talk to me again,”
Ignore ignore ignoreignoreignoreignoreignoreignoreignor-
Yushi felt a hand on the back of his neck, it was big and warm. This made Yushi tense up more – feeling awkward at the sudden touch from the man, “Yushi, you’re really pretty these days,”
What.
That made it. That made Yushi suddenly have a butt ton of strength to finally push Sion away from him completely, ultimately having the weight that was suffocating him vanishing immediately.
Which also made him realize something.
Sion was drunk.
Yushi was annoyed.
Does this mean that he had to take care of drunk Sion?
No! He wouldn’t let that happen. He wasn’t going to let his free night be hogged up by some drunk old man.
He immediately stood up and attempted to dash away from the crime scene as fast as possible. But, it appeared that he was not fast enough to withstand the speed of drunk Sion’s terribly strong grip.
“Sion, let go– Ah!” Yushi yelped as he was pulled into a back hug from Sion, who was laying against the suddenly closed door.
Yushi hastened to get out of the strong hold – but Sion was just too strong for him to push away. Too strong for someone who’s drunk.
“You still sound so pretty too,”
What in the world– “Huh?”
Yushi could feel Sion resting his chin onto his shoulder which made Yushi’s fingers twitch at the sudden action. The man still reeked of cheap alcohol, which was quite an unpleasant scent for Yushi.
“Can you please talk to me now?”
Silence.
“Please?”
Silence.
“Yushi, please, say something. Yell at me. Call me trash. Please, just look at me,”
Yearning, this was the sound of yearning. This was Sion yearning – longing – for attention from Yushi. He realized this much after hearing the broken voice of Sion begging for attention from Yushi. Drunk people tell the truth.
Fuck, Yushi, “I hate you so much,” but it came out as a mumble.
He felt the anchored arms around him loosen up a bit as well as a chest pressed up against him, “Can you say that again?”
“I–” It was quiet at first, but then Yushi just couldn’t hold it in anymore, “I fucking hate you!”
Silence.
“... What?”
“What’s so hard to understand? I hate you so much. I hate everything you do – everything you did!” Yelling, thrashing around yet he was still trapped in Sion’s surprisingly still very strong back hug. He was drunk, he’s supposed to be weak.
Wait, he’s drunk.
Yushi felt dumb, he felt dumb for lashing out on a drunk person that would forget everything he said when he wakes up the next morning. He let out a low chuckle as he gave up and just leaned back onto Sion in defeat, “You’re drunk, you’re not gonna remember this,”
“I’m not,”
What.
“I’m not drunk, Yushi,”
This made Yushi look back, meeting Sion’s eyes that looked slightly glazed but that showed how he was mostly sober, “W-what?”
“You’re so cute, Yushi,” Yushi was staring into Sion’s eyes properly for the first time since his return; it was pretty. It was pretty back then but this time it just looked even more pretty – perfect even.
“H-hyung, wha–”
“Ah, you’re so cute, Yushi!” Sion said as he buried his head into the back of Yushi’s neck, taking in the scent of the younger – Yushi felt a bit self-conscious now, knowing that he actually smelled really bad because he hadn’t showered upon coming home from soccer practice.
“Hyung?”
“Can you forgive hyung?”
Yushi’s fists tightened at this, enraged at Sion’s sorry attempt of asking for forgiveness from Yushi. After everything . “You think this is okay? You disappear for four years , and now you’re back and clinging to me like nothing ever happened?”
He felt Sion freeze under him, feeling that he was comprehending everything word by word, yet he still continued, “You left when I was fourteen , hyung. You said you’d keep in touch. You said it like it meant something. And then you just— stopped . No messages. No replies. Nothing.”
Yushi felt tears swelling in his eyes as he slowly brought up his knees to his chest, something he started doing a few years ago whenever he felt like everything was too much, “You were living your new life. And I was here. Alone. Thinking maybe you’d just forgotten. Or maybe I never mattered in the first place.”
“Of course not!” Sion retaliated softly as he loosened the grip he had on Yushi. He slowly grabbed Yushi’s hands, looking straight into his eyes and Yushi looked back intently this time as if trying to decipher whatever was going on behind those eyes, “You mattered too much that I was afraid of losing you,”
“But you did lose me! You ghosted me, Sion. You vanished like I was a phase . And now you’re back, acting like nothing’s changed—like we can just pick up where we left off.”
This made Sion go quiet completely, his breath halting, his movement stopping, but Yushi didn’t. Yushi went on. “You were everything to me, back then. You were all I had. You left, and I told myself every excuse in the world just to believe you'd come back.”
“I’m s-sorry, I really am–”
Yushi closed his eyes, his breath trembling as he tried to control the tears that were about to fall from his eyes. Softer breaths, the bitter – then back to soft breathing. “You don’t get to act like you never left,”
“I know,”
Sion sounded so broken that it broke Yushi too.
“You don’t just get to be everything again,”
This made Sion sit up straight with eyes glinting with hope as he tightened his hands on Yushi’s. “Then– Then let me be something, ”
Yushi opened his eyes again – looking straight into Sion’s eyes. He didn’t know what he was feeling. Anger? Resentment? Hatred?
Silence.
Quietly, Yushi whispered after contemplating a million times, “You don’t get to disappear again,”
This made Sion smile widely at the boy in front of him, who had tears rolling down his rosy red cheeks, “I won’t.”
For the first time since Sion’s return, Yushi didn’t run away. Doesn’t snap, doesn’t ignore, doesn’t not care .
Instead, he started sobbing relentlessly – shoulders trembling before collapsing onto Sion’s hold voluntarily this time, seeking comfort from the newfound forgiveness he just granted Sion just now, “D-don’t leave me again,”
“I won’t, Yushi, I really won’t,”