go "phd in napping" nam soon (고남순) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
unpresidential) wrote2014-08-12 11:24 pm
unpresidential) wrote2014-08-12 11:24 pm
Entry tags:
ic inbox; (![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
cerealia)
[courtesy of a generic automated female voice:]
ic inbox; (
[courtesy of a generic automated female voice:]
i claim it because it's true!
[because honestly, there's nothing that could be going on via the cerevice that he cares about enough to actually get up for. he rubs his eyes, giving heung soo a look. his friends' annoyance is palpable, and the fact that he dropped the device...
something's weird. well, weirder than it has been, at least. if that's at all even possible.]
Why'd you drop it? [which is the nam soon way of asking "why the fuck are your feathers so ruffled right now, you bastard?" but in far less words. and much less direct. still, his expression and tone imply it enough—heung soo's agitation is rubbing off on him already since this isn't the normal sort that they bicker with on most days.]
how can i do two tags in a row and have both of them being gay as hell
Does it matter? [ No matter how obvious he may be that he's annoyed over something he normally wouldn't be annoyed over just by checking the CereVice to turn it off.. he's still going to stick to his avoidance of an answer, even as he does look back at Nam Soon. ]
It was spam anyway, you bastard. Nothing special.
[ Even though that only makes it more weird that he seems so oddly
sexuallyfrustrated. ]because bastards...
[it does matter, because nam soon really has no idea why he'd be getting so angry about spam. things have definitely been weird and uncomfortable between them since the blackout—he knows exactly why that is...
...and he's quick to avoid the subject too, because he still isn't really sure what he makes of it. the air between them has been uncomfortable ever since, but this? well, it's uncharacteristically angry, even for heung soo. he isn't sure he wants to deal with it.
or maybe he just doesn't know how to. the truth is that the tension that remains is scary to him... he feels as if he's walking on eggshells and that things have become so fragile that whatever remained of their newly rekindled friendship could shatter in an instant. that? somehow, that's scarier than anything else they've been through up to this point. what happened... it's not easy to forget, not for either of them and it puts them in such a precarious position that he just feels himself shutting down every time he has to think about it. ...it's easier not to.
which is exactly why he's taken to sleeping even more; just when he'd started to get into a habit of doing so less as a result of not avoiding his guilt all the time, now he's doing it to avoid the potential crumble that's to come. if he sleeps, he doesn't have to think about heung soo leaving him, or kicking him out; he doesn't have to think about the notion of being completely alone. so without another word, he's turning away and totally ready to try and fall back asleep. it pisses him off that heung soo's being this way, but he doesn't have the courage or the energy to argue it much more.]
the homo is too real
It's why, at first, he just sits there and watches as Nam Soon turns around to doubtlessly try to go back to sleep again. He doesn't stop there, even though his gaze travels up at the ceiling when a small sound of exasperation escapes him.
What is he supposed to do? This whole issue is so awkward to confront, but if they're just going to turn around it like this.. well, it's not going to help anything either. It'll just makes their friendship regress once more, and that is the one thing Heung Soo doesn't want to happen either. Confusing makeouts that actually turned him on quite a bit back there that he doesn't know how to feel about now or not.
He knows Nam Soon won't start about it. That guy always avoids everything this way - Heung Soo has realised enough about Nam Soon in the past and Nam Soon now to know he won't. And it's not like it's easy for him to start, since it's embarrassing as hell, but..
.. he just doesn't want things to be like this between them. Especially not in some weirdass place where getting killed is apparently a monthly thing. ]
Go Nam Soon.
[ After those few moments, he speaks up - purposefully raising (although not angrily, just more loudly) his voice a little. ]
.. What are you thinking.
[ It's probably a dumb question now. Of all times. After his stupid pissy behaviour he can't really explain either, while Nam Soon's trying to sleep.. but it's not meant as small talk anyway, they don't do that stuff. It's just said instead with a tone that suggests he doesn't mean it as small talk - that he wants a real answer so they can sort this out. He won't take any bullshit answers that the other is feeling fine right now or whatever. Or thinking that he wants to sleep. ]
It's embarrassing, you bastard. Since I don't know how to talk about it if you don't. [ See, he'll explain at least.. a little bit.. whatever he can, anyway, and Heung Soo frowns in frustration at not even being able to sort out his own thoughts half of the time concerning this, really. ]
thanks obama-kun... i mean, thanks canon....
[there is a bit of a bite to his words, as he's purposefully trying to avoid the topic that heung soo is really getting at here. "awkward to confront" doesn't really begin to describe it. as far as heung soo sees it, it's a completely terrifying situation.
even if somewhere within it all, he knows they can't avoid it forever. he knows that heung soo doesn't want to lose the thing they struggled so hard to regain either. but he also knows that what happened... isn't something he hated, either. maybe that's what makes it so scary; what happened was caused by something out of his control, something he never would have imagined happening naturally... but all the same, there was something strange and comfortable and genuine within it that it just confuses the hell out of him. he's never been good at feelings, he's definitely never been good at intimacy, so he simply can't understand what it's all supposed to mean.
all nam soon really knows is that it confuses him, that it pisses him off, and that it scares the hell out him solely because the notion of their friendship crumbling and leaving him alone again is too much. that notion in itself sends a cold chill through him every time he thinks of it; he was just starting to learn how to exist like a real, living person again.
the other thing he knows is that heung soo probably (definitely) won't take that excuse for an answer. not when he's largely addressing it directly. so he'll reply without turning around or attempting any sort of face-to-face contact with his friend.]
This place screwed with our heads. Stop reading so much into it, you bastard. [he doesn't believe it for a second, but in nam soon's mind, treating it that way, forcing that belief onto heung soo will somehow try to convince them both to put all of the bullshit aside and just exist as they always had. because that's what they need, right? that has to be it.]
no subject
But now he's hearing that coming from the other guy's mouth, he's even less sure of what to think. He can't see Nam Soon's face, and it makes it even harder to determine what the other is really thinking about all this. Heung Soo knows they got pushed by something else, that it wasn't just from their own free wills, but even so.. dammit, what is he supposed to do with the feeling that he actually enjoyed it?
Especially if Nam Soon is putting it this way, and for a moment he can't help but wonder if he's just the only one who feels that way about it. Awkward. ]
I'm not reading into it.
[ It sounds more grumpy-defensive than anything else though. It's already damn confusing enough, the thought that he hadn't minded it back then - he doesn't need some weird insecurity of Nam Soon not feeling the same to add to that. ]
You're the one that won't stop sleeping. [ You think that sleeping behaviour of the past days has gone by your best friend, Nam Soon.. because it sure hasn't. And Heung Soo is at least sharp enough when it comes to the other to realise he does that because he wants to avoid the whole issue to begin with. ] Lazy bastard.
no subject
no matter how many times he thinks about it, he can't really sort out which feelings belonged to him and which belongs to whatever messed with him. it all feels to hazy and unclear; his normal feelings about protecting heung soo from danger seem to meld with a strange want for something else and that in itself is enough for him to completely want to shut his mind down and let things go completely. he wants to ignore it for as long as he can, because facing the consequences, whatever they may be, is a lot more terrifying.
was he alone in this lingering feeling? would they be unable to get past their strange actions? would they somehow end up at odds once again? if that happens, he'll really be alone this time, and that thought repeats so often than nam soon simply can't deal with it. just like he did for the three years after the incident, he's just completely shutting down and closing himself off. even though part of him knows that it'll accomplish nothing and it's a step backwards... it's a mechanism of self-defense he can't seem to overcome.]
I always sleep when I'm tired. Stop making a big deal out of it. [he sighs a little, but it's forced, lacking the same kind of exasperation it would normally have. e even if it's an attempt at teasing as he always did, it comes out as forced as heung soo sounds grumpy. it's blatantly obvious on both ends—they're both awkward and at odds about what this means.] Tch... Dramatic.
[he says, as he still can even bring himself to turn around and look heung soo in the eye. the pot is definitely calling the kettle black right now.]
no subject
Heung Soo knows his best friend better than that. And maybe it's since he's sitting here and only able to see his best friend's back, but it feels stupidly familiar.
It feels just like that day he was abandoned by Nam Soon, only able to watch his retreating back from behind the hospital window.
There's a small bitter part of him left over by those days that tells him to just let it happen then. If that guy insists on being like this and abandoning him again, even if it's in a less literal way and more just avoiding him.. then well, whatever, let that dumb bastard do that if he wants to so badly. (But it's immediately followed by a feeling that tugs so heavily on his heart that it hurts and he can't truly continue the thought.)
Still, something about the avoidance hurts all the same. Even if it's just them coping, he doesn't want to cope like this. He doesn't want this awkward mood between them to go on, he doesn't want to keep avoiding each other like this when they're all they have in this weirdass place.
His chest feels tight, and he grits his teeth for a moment before speaking up. ]
If I'm being dramatic, then why won't you turn around and face me?! [ The hurt is definitely bleeding over in his tone. He knows he's just being more dramatic this way, just like Nam Soon is saying, but he can't help it at this point. ]
no subject
things have been so stiff and awkward as they try to avoid every semblance of conversation about what happened... and given how things went three years ago, and in the months leading up to now, doesn't it make sense? he knows.. he knows all too well that heung soo would be hurt by this kind of avoidance.
idiot. nam soon can't help but remind himself that he's an idiot. aren't they both worrying about the exact same thing right now? worrying that things will change, worrying that they won't be able to repair the friendship they'd mended, worrying about what it all really means. worrying what the other thinks of the situation, if perceptions will change. he's not alone in this. he's never been alone in this situation, because heung soo has always thought the same way about their friendship. it's only ever been his own fault when heung soo misunderstood him.
...does he want that to happen now? if nam soon keeps quiet, if he keeps sweeping this situation under the rug... does he want that result? it'll never go away and only serve to further drive the wedge between them that's making his elephant take up the whole room.
it's amazing to nam soon how easily his own thoughts can betray him, and how his own insecurities can make him forget these things. it's also amazing how it only takes a few words and shift in tone from heung too to have everything be forced into perspective. he's an idiot. a moron. truly a dumb bastard who was about ready to throw away everything all over again by complete accident and neglect.
neglect is probably one of the only things he's really good at, and it's not a favorable trait to carry.]
Aigoo... [he sighs, wincing to himself (which thankfully, heung soo can't see) before he turns around.]
I'm facing you. Happy now? [he's doing his best to try and keep casual, to keep that sense of neutrality, if only so that emotions don't go overboard... but his expression betrays him in that regard. it's probably plain to see that nam soon's blaming himself internally, that he's awkward and unsure, and that facing this situation makes him as uncomfortable as it does upset.
he's not even sure which part he fucked up more at this point. was it being the one to initiate the kiss? was it avoiding it all this time? is it trying to face this problem now, when tensions are so high? it's a mystery. he doesn't know... he never knows, when it comes to this stuff.]
no subject
But he does know one thing. Or two, rather. He knows that he himself liked it and that's exactly what makes the whole deal so confusing and awkward for him to begin with. But even though he wasn't sure if Nam Soon felt the way about it, he knows now. It's pretty simple, but it's mostly since he knows his best friend so well that he can tell just why he must be feeling the same.
It's since he's not apologizing. Heung Soo can see the other guy is blaming himself, but even so, he's not apologizing. Not the way he did back when they reunited and Nam Soon was following him around like some lapdog and it annoyed him to hell and back since he misunderstood it.. so in that case, even though he must be regretting part of it (that it even happened, that it got so awkward between them, just like Heung Soo is doing) he must not have disliked the entire experience either.
It eases his heart a little bit. Not that it makes it easy in any form to approach any part of the topic, but at least he knows it means it's not something that will drive them apart completely once more. It'll still be them, so it's alright. They just have to find a way to tackle the awkwardness, as hard as it is.
.. And honestly, maybe it was a mistake to ask Nam Soon to face him, because it's even harder to say this when the other is directly looking at him. But Heung Soo doesn't want to turn around and be the avoidant one now, so instead he just sucks in a deep breath (trying to shake off the emotions) before glancing at the floor with a frown. ]
Yeah. Stop avoiding me. [ That's what he already said, but what he means to say is-- ] ... I'm not going anywhere either.
[ They won't lose their bond, that's what he wants to believe in - that's the part that's more important than anything else. ]
no subject
hearing that—hearing those words is something that can get nam soon to actually react, rather than sit there with a false sense of complacency. there's a feeling in his chest—a burn, the thumping of his heart—both of which call to attention just what heung soo says and exactly what it has to imply.
"stop avoiding me." 'stop sleeping. stop going back to what you were these last three years. stop pretending you're okay, stop telling yourself it's okay even when you're not.'
"i'm not going anywhere either." the words that say it all. nam soon knows right off the bat that this means heung soo doesn't want to give up on things. it means that he's not going to be left alone, or that whatever transpired isn't going to put their friendship to the screeching halt it came to three years ago.
it's a relief. it's the sort of relief that takes all the air from his lungs. it's the sort of relief that makes a few tears spring to his eyes. heung soo wouldn't leave him alone. even after everything that happened, even when he can't understand what he's feeling and what it all means, he wouldn't be alone again. there's still so much to address, and nam soon knows that... but all he can do right now is look at heung soo with a strange, relieved sense of disbelief.
heung soo's right, that he can't keep avoiding it, anyhow. it's a step backwards, everything he wouldn't let himself be when he initially saw the opportunity to at least try to repent for all his past mistakes. he'd tried to do everything for heung soo, and then in a moment, he was ready to back away from it all just because the sheer fear of losing him again was so consuming and horrifying that he didn't know what to do with. that's a scary feeling—his best friend has so much power of him unintentionally, and that fear of loss is so great that it's crippling.
if his chest hurt from the ease of knowing heung soo wouldn't leave, then the feeling he'd had at the thought of it all coming to an end was crushing, even crippling.
that means something, doesn't it? it means a lot of things, things nam soon wants to say he doesn't really understand, but somewhere within it all is that knowing. heung soo is the most important to him. that's how it's been since they were kids, and it never once changed. there was never anybody who trumped that importance, and having lost it once, there was nothing more painful than the notion of losing it again.]
...Heung Soo-yah. [it's all he says as those formed tears spill over. he doesn't choke out any sobs, and his voice only barely wavers, but it probably says all it needs to. all of the fears and insecurities he's been bottling for these days is spilling out with the silent relief that he wasn't going to lose his best friend.
even if he doesn't know what comes next, or what heung soo feels about happened... it's the first step. he can't give up here and now, not after everything else, even if it's terrifying.]
no subject
He's not going anywhere, he's not leaving Nam Soon like he was probably fearing.. there's no way he could do that to begin with. Even though he had been a little more functioning than the other guy in the years they were apart, he was still a mess compared to before. He only bothered graduating middle school and moving onto high school since he couldn't let down his family - but very quickly, his family turned into just his sister, and then the anger and bitterness and frustration just kept growing until he ironically enough was the one who got into trouble with the police.
Just because he couldn't deal with the hole that bastard left behind.
So leaving is not even an option right now. Sure, they have even more to work through now than before, but.. they'll find a way. Somehow. Because Heung Soo can't accept any other alternative for himself. He can't imagine himself in a future where he isn't still hanging out with Nam Soon.
It's more scary than anything else to him, too.
Honestly, he's not as prone to crying.. but it always happens like this. Nam Soon starts making that sort of face, the tears start to spill, and that's always when Heung Soo starts feeling his eyes get a little bit wet as well despite everything.
When Nam Soon says his name like that, Heung Soo glances off to the side for a moment, sucking in a breath with a sniff and moving his hand up to rub at the corners of his eyes, as if he's trying to get rid of his own tears before they fall as well. Seriously, this bastard, always reducing him to this..
After another breath, he dares to assume his voice is steady enough to at least speak up. ]
Don't act like it's such a big deal. I promised a long time ago.
[ Not so directly, but.. it's what that promise meant to him, so it might help get rid of some of Nam Soon's fears to actually hear that out loud.
They're always going to be like this. Even when weird shit happens in this place that he too doesn't know how to sort out easily.. they'll always be like this. ]
So.. stop worrying so much, Nam Soon-ah.
[ Isn't that supposed to be his job, you dumb bastard? ]
no subject
they were questions he thought about and asked so much that they invaded his dreams; they always turned to nightmares. heung soo's worrying tendencies had rubbed off on him a lot in that way, so he can't help but let it be his job to worry. after fucking everything up so badly that night, how is he supposed to not be concerned about fuckups? even when things are going smooth, he fears being left alone again, even if all they have here and now is each other.
still though, there is relief that comes from those words. they still have a lot to work through—they did before the pulse incident, and now more things are just being piled on, but hearing that somehow eases his heart just a little. heung soo always did keep that promise, after all... so even now. even when things are endlessly strange, and when he doesn't even know what his own heart wants, he can count on that.
it causes him to dip his head as he sniffles, purposely avoiding his friend's gaze as he uses the back of his hand to wipe the already fallen tears. keeping his composure is hard; the anxiety he'd been feeling over this situation is overwhelming enough, heung soo's words only pile on the emotions.]
You worry enough for the both of us. [he manages the weak snark, but he never really denies at all how much he's worried about this situation. the difference is that he allowed himself to shut down again. rather than push forward like he did every day from the moment heung soo stepped foot in seungri. he regressed, and there's a guilt from that alone that makes it hard for him to look heung soo in the eyes. he feels as if he's failed here, that his resolve got lost in the confusion, the guilt, and the worry.]
What comes next. That's... [he trails off. what they need to figure out? probably, but he isn't sure those are the right words. he just knows that he doesn't want to lose his friend, and he doesn't want things to change to something unrecognizable. even if heung soo is promising not to leave, and even if he's making a silent agreement to not run away either, that doesn't answer much else.
what does his heart want? what does heung soo's heart want? he doesn't even know how to address something like that. it's not something he thought about before, so starting now is difficult. kissing, intimacy, dating—he didn't think about it with girls, so why would he have with another guy? with heung soo, he thought about eating ramen and laying around while reading comics and playing mmos at a pc room... not that. he doesn't doesn't know where to start with anything relating to intimacy, even if there's no doubt in his mind that there is nobody more important to him than his best friend.
...where do they go from there?]
no subject
Which is, admittantly, even harder than making Nam Soon stop avoiding and dodging things as a way of coping for once. If not just because he's still not sure about it either. It's nothing he thought about, nothing that crossed his mind - not with Nam Soon, but surely never really with girls or.. well, anything normal either, it just had never been a concern of his. But he also knows that he didn't dislike the feeling. How much of that was the effects of whatever had gotten into them and how much it were his own feelings.. he can't be sure about that.
.. he does know though that the message on the CereVice pissed him off. Even though it was just dumb spam. Because, after that, after everything in their friendship, the idea of Nam Soon doing that stuff with some girl..
It feels awkward, somehow. It annoys him, somehow. Isn't that how this conversation started to begin with? ]
.. like you said. This place screwed with our heads. [ It's an undeniable fact that something else was driving them, like some sort of haze. That's the easy part, it's just a fact. The hard part is admitting just how much may have been their own emotions - or rather, the hard part is realising just what part of it was more something coming from them personally. ] It's awkward.
But...
[ God, why is he the one who has to do this. It's not like either of them are good at it, but he's not the one who can be all embarrassing and write a poem saying he wants to eat ramen and then look all happy when the other writes the same?! He's just not good at admitting it first, so it doesn't come out easily when he has to figure out both a way to not make it sound too embarrassing and a way that makes sense with what he feels. As far as he can figure that out, anyway. ]
... I don't regret it. I guess.
[ It's hard to puzzle his feelings together, but he thinks that's right. Probably. He feels awkward looking back on it, since it's not supposed to be normal, since he never even imagined anything like that with Nam Soon, no matter how important the other is to him.
But he doesn't feel bad about it. He doesn't find himself thinking back on it and hating it or even disliking it. Being that close with Nam Soon, even if it was in a more extreme fashion than usually.. it wasn't too bad, even if it's awkward trying to come to terms with that fact. ]
no subject
nam soon's silence is a bit more of the stunned variety than anything else at first. it comes down to the fact that it's some sort of admittance of feelings. it's hardly anything resembling a confession, or even an indication that something like that should even happen again. but stating he doesn't regret it?
nam soon understands well and good that there is a shared feeling there. that even though logically, it wasn't supposed to be the normal course of action for them, that it wasn't unenjoyable, either. his breath hitches when he thinks about it, because truth of the matter is that he didn't feel any regret for the action in itself, either. being close to heung soo, sharing their warmth, doing something that was exciting that was't outwardly destructive—it wasn't really that bad. what had been bad was waking up and remembering everything, waking up and not knowing how to face those simple truths.
the first being that they hadn't just shared some hilariously chaste kiss like you see on prime-time drama, and the second being that he had enjoyed it.
maybe the shock had been doubled by the fact that nam soon simply hadn't thought about doing that with anyone at all, let alone heung soo. that latent knowing that no girl he knew, no matter how cute, smart, or willing to put up with him as they may have been, he just wasn't interested. there had never been time to do anything but idly take a small interest in girls—his demons and ghosts from what happened between he and heung soo prevented him from getting close enough to even give a chance like that to develop. he didn't care about those things, he didn't care about idols or actresses, so it just never really occurred to him. nam soon had never realized that his entire existence was so consumed in heung soo that he could be shaken deeply to his core and driven to that sort of situation.
had whatever affected them been totally fabricated, or did it draw on some sort of latent desire or need that neither of them realizes? it's that sort of thing that's leaving nam soon at a loss right now. it's still awkward and strange to think about, but with the knowledge that heung soo isn't going to leave or throw away their friendship over it, and the fact he didn't hate it either... gives him room to consider more.]
Yeah. [that's all he says at first, a one word agreement to everything heung soo said. they got screwed with. it's awkward. he doesn't regret it.
it's his turn to step up to the plate now though, isn't it? he can't sit here and cry about it, and he can't run from it either. nam soon reminds himself of the persistence he maintained until they reconciled; how he used every opportunity to try and get heung soo back into his life until the only option to save his best friend was to transfer. that sort of dedication, that sort of feeling... it means something, doesn't it? and if he didn't back down then, he can't regress now. he can't be the dumb punk he was three years ago, who leaves the big messes in the hands of his best friend while he locks up his heart.
he still has a hard time looking heung soo in the eyes though, not as he tries to speak again. his expression is a little less tense, and maybe slightly less melancholic... but his eyes are darting around, looking for something else to focus on. the things he needs to say... it's all too embarrassing.] I don't either. Regret it, I mean.
[wait, but that's not all.] I guess I really can't throw a bastard like you away after all.
[not that he ever wanted to. but that's his confirmation, his way of saying that even when he tried to throw away their relationship, he couldn't... and that even though they've taken a step in a confusing direction, he still doesn't want to throw it away.
or even take a step backwards.]
no subject
Heung Soo shifts just a little bit.
Nam Soon says he can't throw him away. It was a little bit obvious on a more general friendship level before - even when Heung Soo transferred and wanted nothing to do with this new Nam Soon who seemed nothing like his best friend, Nam Soon always persued him, bought him books, gave him lunch, did just about anything to try and reconcile things, no matter how many times Heung Soo rejected it or pushed back. Back then, he had been the one throwing it away. Although it had felt like Nam Soon was the first one to throw it away to begin with - three years ago, when he walked away from the hospital. When he wasn't in his house anymore by the time Heung Soo got discharged. It kept lingering in the back of his mind, and after they slowly did start reconciling.. well, it always stayed in the back of his mind. The fear that no matter how close they got once more, something like that could happen again. Nam Soon could walk away again.
And he almost did over this - not physically, but.. avoiding him like that, sleeping so much, being so quiet, it felt like it.
But when he's saying these words now, it's almost like the Nam Soon from back then is turning around and walking into the hospital after all.
The past can't be changed, but their present.. there's nothing that could put Heung Soo's heart at ease more than those words.
They both don't regret what happened, they don't want to stop being friends over it - and they don't even really want to lose what happened, on top of it. They feel the same, that's for sure now, so at least there's nothing to be scared about anymore.
Heung Soo picks up the CereVice he dropped on the ground earlier, turning it over in his hands, a small almost-smile appearing on his face at the sheer relief he's feeling. That's right, what did that stupid spam matter - Nam Soon was and is the most important person to him, and he's the most important person to Nam Soon. And if this is not going to change that, then nothing is. ]
Then stop being so worried.
[ Sure, they may not entirely know how to go from here yet, or how to deal with any of this.. but their worst fear about is has been taken away, so it's somethng they'll figure out as they go along. They've always been a lot better at that rather than pre-planning things or talking it out fully. ]
.. We'll figure it out. [ They have enough issues already, anyway.. not knowing how to deal with wanting to kiss your bastard best friend or how to go about doing so can just be something to slowly figure out too. Somehow. It's not like this is some sort of sappy kdrama love line. ]
no subject
[which he knows in a case like that is heung soo being concerned in his own way. he still doesn't really even know what was worth getting so angry about it. in any case, it's hard for him to not deflect the conversation at least a little bit. he's embarrassed by their admissions.
when he said he was embarrassed about the way ji hoon apologized to young woo, he meant it. but that embarrassment pales in comparison to how nam soon feels right now. even if his cheeks remain that clear, pale sort of tint he always has, his ears are red enough to be compared to an apple or tomato. he doesn't have to see it to feel how hot they are. he's quick to turn his head for a moment, then use his hand to casually cover the other in the hopes that heung soo won't notice how red they are. he's probably the only person who would know that quirk of his.
...not that he isn't just drawing more attention to it this way, but still. with his head still half-turned, he looks to heung soo and finds himself smiling a little too. they may not know where this will lead them, and there was still so much to work out and sort through, but that's been the case for a while anything. it changes things some, but... he's not sure. nam soon isn't really sure what to call what it is he's feeling right now.
it's a bit of relief that things aren't going immediately in the shitter. it's amused, because heung soo is just as much of a dumb bastard as he is about things. it's embarrassed, because whatever just happened was definitely a conversation most guys they know would have with a girl (that's what happened in those dramas, isn't it?). it's glad, because he can see the tension heung soo had melting a way in light of things. he doesn't know what those mean, and he doesn't really know why it makes his heart beat a little faster. nam soon doesn't really want to share all that right now, though. he's a bit drained from the whole conversation, given that it wasn't one he wasn't expecting to have...
but all the same, he's awake now, and he can't just roll over and go back to sleep. well. he could probably, but he doesn't need to. it was his method of escaping dealing with what happened under the pulse's influence, of ignoring it, and now that his sleep has been broken to deal with it, there's not much need. plus, he'd probably just end up laying there thinking about heung soo. he really doesn't want to stray far, either... for some reason, he just wants to stay where he is.]
Yah... just put that stupid thing down and relax. [he makes a bit of a face, but there isn't much spirit in trying to seem annoyed by it.] Or tell me why that thing was such a problem.
[since he still doesn't get why spam was that much of a problem. and nam soon doesn't think the weight in the air was just because of that unresolved situation.]
no subject
It's just annoying.
So Heung Soo frowns. It's not really angry, per se - if anything, he looks more like he just can't find worse whatsoever right now. But they've usually communicated better without them, so he just gives up when nothing comes to him after a moment or two. ]
I was just annoyed. [ That's the only way he can sum it up, since it's the only thing he knows to be a fact. He saw that spam, and he felt annoyed as hell - no lie about it.
He holds out the device with a "catch" sort of motion before really throwing it in Nam Soon's direction. He waits for a moment until the other catches it, but then continues.. mostly to distract everything from his own issue here, since if Nam Soon wants to properly catch it, he'll need to let go of his ears.
And Heung Soo does recognize the quirk - how could he not, after spending so much of his life by this bastard's side? ]
... Aigoo. [ Yeah, that's totally the sign that he sure saw that. At least now they both have equally embarrassing things going on here, even as Heung Soo's not moving from his sitting position against the wall. ]
no subject
of course, this reveals how red his ears really are, and it's been quite a while since they've looked that way. it's not often he gets really embarrassed; nam soon is good at shrugging things off even in the worst situation. the only other recent times that could compare were masked by the cold weather (thankfully), but when being left with the choice of keeping that position or getting hit with a glorified smartphone...
well, it's pretty obvious what he picks. with the cerevice now in his possession, nam soon opens up the messages, going quiet as he looks it over. it's short lived as he tosses the device to the side, sighing.]
What kind of dumb bastard gets so annoyed about that kind of spam? Aigoo, it's like you've never gotten an email before or something. [he chides, because that's what he does.
leave it to these two idiots to go right back to acting as they always have despite the circumstances and the weird, embarrassing things they're still in the middle of trying to figure out.]
no subject
[ It's not like he had.. friends... the whole 3 years they were separated, after all. Not even his soccer team mates, since he honestly just didn't want to have to do anything at all anymore with the sport.. at best the people who contacted him were only the school for messages related to that and his older sister.
(Not that it means he doesn't know what spam is, he's just trying to avoid answering that question he can't word an answer to like this. Sure, that really was like one of those spam emails advertising porn or dating sites, but.. aish.
Falling in their usual routine just feels a lot easier.) ]
At least I'm not the one here sitting with ears that look like it's freezing. [ YES, HE CAUGHT ON.. and he - of all people - knows very well what it means, so if he has to mask his own embarrassment with Nam Soon's, then he'll gladly do so as an escape. ]
no subject
of course, it's pretty short-lived once heung soo calls out his red ears. that's a low blow and rude as hell! don't call him out on how embarrassed he is about this whole situation. so rather than a real verbal response, nam soon is muttering something incoherent under his breath before picking up a pillow and unceremoniously tossing it at heung soo's head.
bastard.]
no subject
That's well worth a pillow to the head, and Heung Soo makes no real movement to try and dodge it anyway - instead he just laughs. A little bit, sure, but it's a real laugh. Whether it's out of sheer relief that they managed to get past this roadblock or because Nam Soon's embarrassment is so funny - who knows. But his chest feels strangely light with this weight lifted off it, and he's already picking up the pillow and actually getting up in order to be able to walk over to Nam Soon and twap him over the head with it as well.
It's not often that he gets the upper hand in teasing, okay, let him enjoy this moment of victory. At least he seems happy, that's already more than most of the usual expressions that can be found on his face.. ]
no subject
after all that's happened, both today and in the last few days, he needs this more than anything else. and it's obvious that heung soo does too, because he's smiling now. he looks happy, and that makes nam soon feel nothing but relief. good... good, they could still be this way with each other, despite the things that keep standing in their way. nam soon can put up with a little embarrassment if it's for that cause.
which he will, because his ears only get more red when he realizes how much he enjoys seeing heung soo happy. his best friend has had a lot of hardships, and nam soon knows many of them were his fault, so it's hard not to feel this way when he can smile that way. yeah, his ears are red and he's ill-prepared for being hit with a pillow.
....which leads to flailing limbs at a reaction.] Yah!
[he already gets the victory of knowing how embarrassed nam soon is right now, does he have to rub it in with a pillow victory too? he's going to have to make a grab for the pillow to fight back, in that case.]
no subject
Well, not like it matters. He had his momentary pillow victory here, okay, that's good enough for him to get the other to flail like that.
In fact, Heung Soo even lets go of the thing, as if he's trying to say-- ]
Aigoo, what's wrong? Did I find a weakness after all? [ -- hit him with your best shot, really.
Not like he doesn't know every single one of Nam Soon's weak spots anyway to begin with, but whatever.. this works just fine for teasing the other, and it shows very well from his expression that it's exactly what he's trying to do. It's not like he can do anything else with the strange light feeling that suddenly spread through him other than to channel his relief into something like this. ]
no subject
[with things out in the open, as awkward as some of it is... well, it's a little easier to joke around about some things. like the fact that not only did nam soon known most of his weaknesses already, but now there's an extra upperhand that he's got.
...even if he's not really ready or willing to go that far yet. and even if heung soo could easily retaliate with the very same thing. ...this probably wasn't a very well-thought plan. leave it to nam soon to get flustered enough by heung soo to lose his head about that. there's only one other option here:
tsunami-swinging a pillow right at heung soo's head to distract him.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)