HEART ATTACK

scene four: homework hotline

"Innie!"

Jeongin's gaze flitted from his homework to the cheerful brownish red-headed boy that walked through the door, medicine in hand.

"Hey Felix-hyung!" Jeongin responded back, giving an energetic wave back with his pencil still in hand. T

he freckled boy set down the small paper cup with Jeongin's medication on the table next to the splayed out papers filled with math problems.

"Doing homework?" Felix asked as Jeongin swallowed the two capsules with a short look of disgust from the aftertaste.

"Yeah," Jeongin sighed, but continued to wear his signature smile. 

Algebra homework was definitely not his favorite. 

Despite being hospitalized, Jeongin continued to take online lessons from the confinement of his hospital room so he could receive an education for if he ever left this cement lifeline.

"Confusing, right?" Felix said with a sympathetic smile, remembering his struggles with math when in school. 

Jeongin nodded in response, continuing to scrutinize the one problem he was stuck on while tapping his pencil on his chin.

"I wish I could help you, but I'm afraid that I wouldn't be much help," Felix admitted sheepishly, but his face soon lit up in realization. "Oh, but I know who can help you! You remember Chan-hyung, right?"

"Yeah," Jeongin responded, his smile deepening at the thought of the blond aussie.

"Despite being freaking scary," Felix muttered while rolling his eyes, causing Jeongin to let out a small laugh. "He's surprisingly good at math. I'll ring him up."

"You don't have to, hyung," Jeongin protested. He wanted to see Chan, but he didn't want to trouble or annoy him. "I don't want to bother him."

"Nah, it's Chan-hyung," Felix reassured him, already taking out his phone. "He's usually free around this time. Dude has got no life."

Jeongin laughed and nodded as Felix facetimed Chan.

"Hello?"

Chan's husky voice rang through the phone after a few rings. 

Felix was still facing the phone toward himself so Jeongin could only hear his voice emitting from the speaker.

"Hey cuz'," Felix greeted in English, his Australian accent prominent. "I'm here with Innie."

Felix then panned his camera to face Jeongin, sitting in the bed with the sheets pooled at his waist, who waved at Chan in response. 

He could see that Chan was inside, his blonde hair naturally curly and messy as it hung around his face. 

Jeongin couldn't miss the dark circles that hung under Chan's eyes, standing out against his pale skin.

"Hey Jeongin," Chan greeted nonchalantly. "So... what's up?"

"Jeongin's math homework is really hard," Felix explained, now sitting next to Jeongin's bed as he propped up his phone against the cup so the camera captured them both. "We need your help, bruv."

"Ok," Chan said. "Show me the problem."

Felix flipped the camera of his phone to display the math problem in question, showing Chan an equation filled with numbers and variables.

"Hmm," Chan observed the problem for a second before nodding in conclusion. "Substitute 'x + 2' for another variable and then factor the problem out. Should be easier that way."