22 Something to ask

When it began to get dark, Yul had to wake Zeng up. A drowsy Zeng woke up with puffy eyes. Yul helped him to sit up. He really didn't want to get off the bed and wanted to cuddle a pillow to sleep but he had to drop Yul to the Academy.

"I can go by myself if you are not feeling well," Yul was being considerate but Zeng rejected.

"I already ditched you once, Yul. That was not nice of me and I won't do it again."

Zeng got ready and took the keys. Just when he was about to open the door, he remembered something and turned back. Yul halted and gave him a questioning look.

Zeng bit his lip and took a step ahead to hug Yul who almost immediately hugged him back. They stood there for a long time and Yul seriously thought about not going back to the Academy and getting suspended for the act.

"Hugging you feels nice," Zeng spoke, voice muffled as he hid his face in Yul's shoulder. Yul smiled, "Then we should do this more often."

Zeng chuckled, "Yeah, we should."

There was a comfortable silence for some time again before Zeng pulled away, "Let's get you back to the academy. I don't want you to get any scolding because of me."

Yul let out a groan, "I don't want to go. Why do we even have this fu¢king curfew? For fu¢k's sake, we are not kids!"

Zeng narrowed his eyes. "You cursed," he accused.

Yul smiled sheepishly, "Well, the boys in the Academy swear all the time and I may have caught a habit of it." He rubbed the back of his neck as Zeng was in no mood to spare him.

"No swearing or cursing," Zeng warned him with a pointing finger, "And don't even get me started on drinking and smoking. I won't tolerate any of it."

"As you say, mom!" He saluted and kissed Zeng on the cheek. Zeng lightly punched him on the chest, which hardly did anything to budge Yul.

"We should get going. It's only half an hour to your curfew." Zeng pulled him by the hand. There weren't many people outside so they intertwined the fingers and walked to the car. The drive was smooth without much traffic.

"So next Sunday?" Yul asked when they reached his academy.

"Yeah," Zeng gave a nod.

Yul was about to get out of the car, when he pulled back and got in again. Turning to Zeng, he spoke in a sincere voice, "You are going straight back and eating dinner and sleeping, okay? No unnecessary thoughts, no thinking how things could have turned out differently and most important, no self-blaming. Got it?"

Zeng snorted, "Yul-ah, since when did you become the elder of us two?"

"Just say yes, old man," Yul asserted as Zeng chuckled softly, "Yes Sir." He saluted to emphasize.

As Yul got back to his room after bidding farewell, he found the room empty. All three of his roommates were out. Good, he needed some silence after the heavy day. He removed his clothes and pulled on shorts and decided to not wear a shirt as it was pretty hot and the fan in their room was as slow as a tortoise.

He laid face down on his bed, thinking when his roommates entered, laughing and howling but coming to an abrupt stop when they saw Yul.

"Bro, you are oozing gloominess," Subin commented, removing his shirt, showing his own six-pack abs. The other two boys slipped into the respective upper bunks only on boxers, leaving Subin to deal with the gloomy person before he could snap at them.

"Yul-"

"fu¢k off, Bin!" Yul managed a groan, face still buried.

"Don't be rude, a$$hole. I am older than you," he spat. Then looked back at Yul, "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Something happened on your date, right?" Subin pestered as he didn't receive a reply, "Something enough to make you this gloomy." He sat on his own bed. "Tell me. The other two are already asleep."

Yul got up and rested his back on the wall. "It's something personal to Zeng. I can't discuss it with you."

Subin nodded to that. "Well then, does that change anything between you two? Where do you stand now?"

Yul let out a tired sigh, "We are still the same. Nothing has changed. I just came to know why he is the way he is."

"Okay," Subin spoke, "See, we are graduating next month. Things are going to change after that. You guys are taking it slow, which is not a bad thing but it will probably take months to actually label your relationship. You have to be patient, especially with someone like your intern."

Yul gave a nod.

Subin smiled, "And prepare yourself, we are having a haircut tomorrow." He informed about their monthly haircut day.

"What, no!" Yul exclaimed out loud, but the other two trainees above them didn't even budge. "How am I going to style my hair, if it's going to get cut short? Come on man, I have an intern to impress." He said in a desperate voice.

"Tell that to Bai Sir. He'll make us do extra twenty laps." Number 86 slumped on his bed, "Now sleep, we have to wake up early tomorrow. There's a parade simulation." He was about to close his eyes when Yul spoke again, "I also have something else to ask."

Subin arched an eyebrow but sat up anyway. It wasn't everyday that Yul discussed things with him. Agreed, ever since his odd relationship with Zeng, Yul had opened up more but he still kept to himself most of the time.

"It's about me." Yul said, his face showed a bit of hesitation that he quickly covered with a stoic mask.

"Aww, are we having a deep bonding moment?" Subin said with a creepy smile, wiggling his eyebrows.

Yul glared at him rather sharply, making Subin frown and lean back with a pout.

"Will you listen or not?" He asked seriously, cold eyes throwing daggers at the goofy guy who smirked.

"Is that even something to ask?" Subin asked, a hand proudly placed over his chest, "I am the therapist of this entire fu¢king academy. Plus, I am your best friend, man! So whatever your problems are, bring it on, baby!"