The dark-haired male felt the scalding hot liquid wash down his throat in waves of carelessness, however, he no longer felt pain; merely a numbness that was almost dissatisfying.
"Did you have to go to such an extent," Chanyeol shifted his piercing gaze from the rim of the mug to the other's blindness. "Brother?"
The brunette clenched his teeth, his cold unfamiliar eyes glaring into Chanyeol's. "Why are you interacting with him?"
Chanyeol remained silent, slightly baffled as to what exactly his words meant.
"He's just a housecleaner that does nothing but nose around and mop from beneath our feet, so why bother talking to him?" Jongin's words burnt the air around him yet seemed to weaken around himself.
They were the borders of a man too arrogant to face himself.
Chanyeol leant back against the counter, finally letting the bitter taste return to his taste buds as he stared at his own brother in annoyance.
Spoilt brat.
"Jongin," He moved his arm, placing the mug on the counter before swallowing the substance in his mouth. "Kyungsoo is a kind-hearted soul who offers his time just to clean this place. There's no way he can be categorized under 'just a housecleaner'. You know that just as well as I do."
Jongin neared closer, his aura wavering, lips beginning to struggle in finding the right words. "S-so what? He's the one who broke that vase in the first place so of course he cleans to repay the cost!"
Something in Chnyeol's eyes glinted, "Jongin. We both know that it was unfair to do that to him." He watched as his younger brother's face began to taint pink in humiliation. "Pranking him into cleaning the house for that cheap vase was playing dirty."
Jongin stepped back, feeling himself being dragged back by the guilt that was the result of his past boredom.
Randomly selecting people from the crowd and manipulating them into obeying him. He'd been doing it all his life and became a habit that warped his personality.
Watching the puppet dance within his palm was pleasurable up until the point he lost interest and crushed them with the smooth movement of his hand.
They'd spin and spin, twirl and fall until they couldn't move anymore and Jongin would once again, resume the inevitable routine of disposal.
However, Kyungsoo wasn't following the order.
It was as if the boy was slipping and sliding from one finger to other, hiding from Jongin's persistent grasps as he crawled away in desperation.
It was bewildering and frustrating, yet at the same time, Jongin wished that the boy never be caught.
He hoped that Kyungsoo could find a way out of every of Jongin's attacks so that he could forever tease the male yet never lose him.
Jongin had realized it. He'd noticed what he'd been becoming and needed to make sure that he didn't hold on too tight.
He wouldn't let himself fall for it again.
"B-but, Kyungsoo, he's…" Jongin chewed up his own words, his eyes wide with perseverance, brows furrowed in frustration with both himself and the two males. "That guy is gay, you know! Kyungsoo likes guys!"
It was a thoughtless decision.
Even though he'd previously threatened Kyungsoo and teased him for it, he hadn't planned on telling anyone else from the beginning.
Yet, as if his mouth was its own being, he'd let the secret slip out and heard the first crack in his stability.
He could slowly feel his confidence falling, the guilt in his heart weighing him down until it felt as if he were on his knees peering up at his older brother with pleading eyes that insisted truth.
Jongin saw as Chanyeol's expression momentarily faltered.
The blank observance had shifted to that of surprise, but as soon as it had washed over him, it had been dragged back into the deep ocean by the constant ripples.
But now, Chanyeol's expression was hard. His respectable aura was gone and his eyes glared freezing holes into his younger brother's statement.
"So what?" He spat.
Jongin could only stare up at him in disbelief, shocked by the sudden change in emotion that he'd never seen before.
Chanyeol was enraged.
Jongin could feel his body tremble at the sight of the darkness that failed to reflect the kindness in his older brother's eyes.
He feared it.
But the difference between the brother lied in their act.
Chanyeol's anger was nowhere near Jongin's.
He wasn't blinded by the red visor that prevented him from widening his open-mindedness, neither did he physically harm.
He did everything in silence. The hard, deafening silence that shook Jongin to the bone was what put him to test.
"So what if Kyungsoo is gay? What does that have to do with your shitty ass? He's just doing what you told him and now all you do is sit back and control him."
Jongin failed to say anything.
He was limited to only blinking, dumbfounded by the lack of power he had over the conversation.
What does Kyungsoo being gay have to do with me?
He was caught in the web his brother had stopped him with.
Unable to escape the thoughts that Chanyeol forced into his head, Jongin could only wander aimlessly around in his head, thinking of the red-head as his tongue tied itself up in the web.
Kyungsoo was not amused.
Even as he glanced around the tiny shop that was located on the corner of the street that hosted the two male's favorite café, he didn't feel the same relaxing vibe that usually sent his mind into a sub-conscious bliss.
"Baekhyun." His monotone seemed to mute the quiet background music, addressing his roommate with intense judgement. "What the actual fuck are we doing in here?"
As if on cue, Baekhyun jumped out from behind a rack of colorful costumes, a rubber chicken head sitting on his own. "What does it look like, squishy-soo?"
Kyungsoo inhaled harshly, cursing Baekhyun's name in his head. "I don't fucking know, that's why I'm asking, you piece of shit."
Baekhyun only smiled wider, completely unfazed by Kyungsoo's particularly short-tempered attitude. Something in his brightly lit eyes reflected his unwillingness to back off, even if Kyungsoo was going to be stubborn.
"We're getting ready~" Baekhyun's tone held a hinting tone to it, the chosen words manipulated in a way that it sounded dangerous to ask what on earth Baekhyun meant.
However, he was not going to get anywhere by just staring at the dumb chicken that sat on Baekhyun's head, so he did what was necessary at that moment in time.
"…For what?"
Baekhyun shuffled around, searching through the racks of clothing for something similar to that of a chicken. "The party, obviously."
Kyungsoo had to let himself shift into a different gear that set his mind blank to comprehend what the blonde was saying. He was having trouble remembering anything of the sort.
Kyungsoo exhaled, "…Well, whilst you prepare for that I'll be in the café—" as he tried to escape, turning on his heel to sprint for the door but was caught the minute he took the first step.
"We're going." Baekhyun's smile and tone was forced, the grip on the back of Kyungsoo's collar mildly intense that it began sending shiver down the latter's spine. "I decided that you need to get off of your depressed ass, dance with a bunch of weirdos and have a one-night-stand with whoever is on your 'hottie' list."
The red-head peered at him from the corner of his eye, questioning why on earth the blonde even knew about Kyungsoo's recent damp mood.
"And why should I go?" Undoubtedly, he asked, challenging his best friend into a negotiation that was to his advantage.
Kyungsoo hated anything loud with lots of people, and Baekhyun knew this.
He knew, yet he had asked his most unsociable, shy and awkward friend to tag along to a place that he hated just because he claimed Kyungsoo's recent aura as a dark blue.
"To free your mind and lift your small shoulders for a bit." He turned, grabbing Kyungsoo by the arms, spinning him around to show the sincerity that reflected in his almond-shaped eyes.
His words had been pronounced so smoothly that it took Kyungsoo a while to come up with a counterattack and eventually let his words exit his hesitant lips. "W-well, I can just do that at the café and eat—"
"Eat your thoughts and make your way into a cave of depression that prevents you from going out for the next three weeks? No thank you, went though it once; never again~" Baekhyun covered his best friend's mouth his hand, shaking his head in disapproval.
Kyungsoo let a sigh escape his lips, the crease between his brows on furrowing more.
"Baekhyun, I'm not really up for it. I feel like I'd just warn away everyone with my pitch-black killer-aura." The red-head looked down at his feet, his normally bright, heart-shaped lips forming sorrowful fruitless ones.
Baekhyun could only feel compassion for the boy that struggled in his own problems, his own flailing limbs being the only thing preventing him from drowning in the greedy quicksand.
But, with a smile as bright as the sun, Baekhyun ruffled his best friend's beloved hair that he never let anyone but Baekhyun touch, leaning down until the rubber chicken's beak hit Kyungsoo's forehead.
"Soo, instead of thinking about the people there, think about the fact that you'll be spending time with me and enjoying a little bit of dancing. The lights will be dim and you'll be able to forget everything in the land of holy alcohol. It'll raise your mood to the moon, I promise."
Kyungsoo looked up at his best friend, taking note of the sincerity and effort he put in to make Kyungsoo come to the party.
It was too kind and honorable for someone as pure-hearted as Kyungsoo to ignore.
And that's why, despite his earlier declines and complaints, Kyungsoo accepted the offer and decided for the first time in his life, he'd attend a party.
Something with many people, alcohol, probably not as much food and tons of dancing and music.
It was bound to go terribly wrong, he could feel it even as he gave in to Baekhyun's persistence.
"Now then, my dearest Kyungsoo," Baekhyun's expression had returned to that of a sly puppy with a giant mischievous grin on its face, ready to play. "Let's find you a penguin costume!"
Kyungsoo hesitated as he began regaining his self-awareness. "…I take it back, fuck you!"
Look forward to Halloween's update! We have a party full of sweat, drama and romance up ahead! ^_^