"The red-haired one—"

"Hyojin," Minkyun interjects, worry clouding the black of his eyes, grey storm clouds rolling over them, coloring his perception of his friend of six years.

"Hyojin," Jaeyoung corrects himself, "he was arguing with…"

"Seungjun," Minkyun supplies, trying to keep his voice even.

"He was arguing with Seungjun while I was inside the pod."

"Yeah… they, um, disagree about what happened to you."

"And what happened to me?" Jaeyoung asks, far more calmly than Jaeyoung, his Jaeyoung, the Jaeyoung that was one-hundred percent himself, would have asked.

"You were dying—you were going to die—and I did it to save you," Minkyun explains, justifying his actions as much to Jaeyoung as he does to himself.

"Did what?"

"Replaced the damaged parts of your body with biotech."

Jaeyoung sits immobile beside him, this information having no apparent bearing on his psyche.

"They seemed to have affected your personality, though, and your memories… I'm sorry, Jaeyoung. I'm so sorry…" Minkyun chokes back tears.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not…"

Silence falls between them, Minkyuns legs dangling off the side of the abandoned building from where they're situated on the roof.

The air is cold, winter creeping into the periphery of autumn, edging it out and replacing it with cold nothingness. The absence of wildlife is almost eerie as Minkyun peers through the almost-barren trees, not a bird or squirrel in sight. He shifts uncomfortably as he steals a glance at Jaeyoung standing over him, statue still and expressionless.

"What do you—what are you feeling now?" Minkyun asks, breaking the silence at last.

Jaeyoung looks down at him, considering him for a moment.

"I'm supposed to destroy you. I'm supposed to destroy you all." The frostiness of Jaeyoung's voice sends a series of shivers down Minkyun's spine, fills his heart with so much dread, he starts to feel queasy.

"No, Jaeyoung," he implores him. "We're your friends." Minkyun's voice cracks on the word friends.

"We were friends?"

Minkyuns heart clenches painfully, but he shoves a wince down, not letting Jaeyoung see the chinks in his armor.

"Still are," he smiles, patting Jaeyoung on the shoulder, grounding himself as much as he hopes to ground Jaeyoung. He doesn't care how many times he has to tell him, he'll remind him every day if he has to. Jaeyoung was and is and always will be his best friend.

Perhaps he's merely projecting, but he can swear he sees a glimmer of the old Jaeyoung staring back at him, and he clings to it, never taking it for granted or letting it go. Ever.

---

Eeee thank you so much for thr angsty prompt heheheh. And sorry it took me SO LONG omg. Hopefully this is something like you had in mind fudndjcjff