He's still in bed by then but then it occurs to him that starving himself pitifully because he misses Tae-gun would also be kind of manipulative and pressuring if Tae-gun ever comes back and—something. He doesn't think he can pretend his way into acting like a full normal human being but he can at least not be a useless lump and have some semblance of ability to care for his own biological needs.

He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know what to do. The answer is "nothing", obviously, but—but how can he do nothing? What comes next? Should he be thinking about what comes next? Surely Tae-gun will let him know that it's over, right? He's not going to be left in limbo forever and just have to guess based on how long it's been since he's been ghosted? That, that would be so cruel, and his Tae-gun isn't cruel, has never been cruel, couldn't be cruel. Tae-gun—even if he's scared of Jaeha, Tae-gun is still, is still himself. He wouldn't just, just not say anything, would he? Just leave? At least a text? Surely he'd send Jaeha at least a text?

Tae-gun didn't have any more dungeons scheduled for today. The expected time of completion of that last one was no later than 7PM.

Through heroic effort Jaeha doesn't check the news. Doesn't turn on the TV to see if Tae-gun came out of his dungeons okay, that he's safe. Quasar would contact him if his partner weren't safe, right? So no contact is actually good, it means that Tae-gun is safe and, and, and doesn't need him. 

Tae-gun doesn't need him. 

He's not going to cry because if Tae-gun comes back it'll be really manipulative of him to look like he'd been crying. He's going to wait.

He's not sure how long he's going to wait, but—a day isn't too bad, right? It's not too much for him to ask, just a day. And Jaeha hopes it won't be too much longer but, but even a week would be fine, probably. That was a lot of information, all at once, and, and Tae-gun is probably reviewing their whole acquaintance. That'd be like him, to be sure. 

Surely he'll tell Jaeha if he means to think for that long? Surely he'll, he'll let Jaeha know? Won't he? Surely he will?

When it's been exactly twenty-four hours since Tae-gun teleported away, he sends Jaeha a text.

He set priority to texts and calls from Tae-gun to maximum and he gets an instant popup on his commscreen and he nearly dies with some sort of emotion he doesn't want to know.

What's... the content of the text?

Are you available for a video call?

yes

, he responds immediately.

He gets a call.

Jaeha obviously accepts it and—holds his breath, because he shouldn't say Tae-gun's name with all of the relief he's feeling, he should actually not show any emotions at all, if he shows emotions that'll be manipulative—

Tae-gun blinks when he sees Jaeha's face. "...hey."

"Hello."

"Are you... backlashed?"

"...no. I cancelled my assignments today and haven't used my powers at all since last night."

"Oh. You look..."

...ah. Right. The expressionless face would be the face Tae-gun usually sees when Jaeha's backlashed, wouldn't it?

He doesn't say anything.

"Hyung, are you alright?"

Aaaaand he loses at "hyung". He turns his face away and sobs into his hand and tries to hide it. "Sorry. Sorry. Just—sorry. I'll—" He doesn't know what he'll. Hearing Tae-gun call him that filled him with far, far too much hope and he shouldn't be feeling hope, it was probably a slip of the tongue—

—Tae-gun asked him a question. "No. I'm not." Because he needs to stop lying, and even a white lie would feel wrong.

...oh.

That's, that's his Jaeha. He made his Jaeha cry, he, he didn't think that was possible—

Focus.

"Why did you tell me all of that yesterday?"

"...isn't it obvious? Because I'm in love with you. Because I couldn't bear lying to you anymore, because I realised I—had done something horrible to you, had been doing something horrible to everyone around me—"

"What changed?"

"...I just. Being guided, probably. Getting it all back. And then—you told me you liked me—and I told you I liked you—and you didn't say anything, and that made me anxious, but then you felt something, and that made me happy, and it made me realise that I was happy doing something you didn't know I was doing and could object to and that made me think about this which I'd been avoiding for weeks and I couldn't, I couldn't bear to keep doing it to you. Because I like you. Because I'm in love with you."

"Hyung, when was the last time you used your powers on me? —other than last night. And other than just knowing what I'm feeling."

His heart skips another beat at "hyung". That can't have been a slip, right? It can't have.

"I don't remember. A month ago, maybe longer."

"When was the last time you used it on someone else?"