COTTON CANDY SKIES | JIKOOK ✔

[🍬] Thirty-one

Jeongguk doesn't want to be at school. Not after his and Jimin's argument just yesterday. Not after Namjoon nearly kissed him in his kitchen, just after saying he's leaving soon and he won't be coming back. Suddenly he feels like the source of everybody's problems and it stings.

But being out of touch with Jimin stings most. Worse than the cut on his hand. He's sitting down outside of the school during lunch, propped up against the wall while he studies the bandage wrapped around his palm. Images of Namjoon's lips close to his own play in his mind and his stomach twists. It still doesn't make sense to him. He doesn't think it ever will.

All that he can focus on are the whirring vehicles passing by the school and the leaves shifting in the wind. The bunch of trees across from him produce sounds fitting to that of an orchestra. He feels as though they're playing specifically for him in his state of melancholia. He lifts his head with sullen rings wrapped around his eyes. He stares at the trees while they dance for him.

All Jeongguk can think about is Jimin. That's all he thought about last night, even. He only got a few minutes of sleep and even then, he dreamt of the blond headed boy putting a daisy behind his ear. Suddenly his heart starts to feel much heavier and his head falls forward. This definitely serves as an issue moving forward. Hell, Jeongguk doesn't even know if he'll be able to move forward. He's toying with blades of grass between his fingers when he sees a pair of sneakers bleed into his vision.

He peers up and as he sees Jimin looking down at him with a sad expression, his body is driven into a state of paralysis. He isn't sure what to say or what to do. The blond chews on his lip and then sits next to Jeongguk. He isn't prepared for his hand to be pulled into Jimin's. It's only been a day and yet he's missed his touch dearly. It leaves sparks on his skin.

"What happened here?" Jimin asks quietly while his fingers move against the bandage.

Jeongguk's form of speech is totally inhibited. He's staring at his boyfriend dumbly, gaping like a fish with furrowed eyebrows. The boy's blond hair shifts before his pretty eyes and he finds himself getting increasingly lost as each second passes.

Jimin's lips jut and his shoulders fall slightly. With Jeongguk's hand still held daintily within his own, he lets a sigh fall loose from his mouth. "I'm sorry, Ggukie. It wasn't fair of me to walk out on you like that," he says.

Jeongguk doesn't say anything just yet and simply listens while watching Jimin's ample lips punctuate with each spoken word.

"I'm so used to being walked over at home and when I go out by myself. And don't get me wrong, I'm good at sticking up for myself. I just... I guess I'm tired of people thinking I'm this helpless, teenage boy who wears skirts for attention. I like to prove that I'm capable and that I'm strong. But I realized that in a situation like this, I needed to push my ego aside. I talked to the constable and he confronted Jin. The pictures got deleted, I just don't know if he has them anywhere else." Jimin's eyes gloss over. A shaky sigh can by heard leaving his mouth, joining alongside the gentle breeze that ghosts their lips.

Jeongguk swallows softly at Jimin's admission. The blond is still holding his hand as if it's made of porcelain, bound to break at any given second. In all honesty, he never really knew how Jimin felt. There's a potential that the way he reacted doesn't make sense to another. But as Jeongguk really allows the explanation to settle in, he understands. He's been witness to In-Su's unpredictable wrath and handsy customers in public.

"It's okay," Jeongguk says while his lips break into a gentle smile. Jimin peers up at him and as he does so, the intensity in his eyes soften. However his cheeks have been trailed with tears that Jeongguk leans over to brush away with his thumb. "I hate seeing you cry."