RULES. seungjin.

【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ３４】

The moment that the door slams shut behind him, Seungmin feels his stomach drop to the floor and he's sure he's about to be sick. He needs to leave- he can't stay here any longer. His chest was heaving and he could hear his accelerating heartbeat in his ears. In a rush of adrenaline, he jumps down the steps and races to his car, dismissing the sound of what he's sure to be a painful sob coming from Hyunjin's house.

His heart hurts so fucking bad.

'What did I just do? Why did I-...' Seungmin thinks to himself as he holds himself up, propping an arm against his car door.

The number of emotions he felt in that short time he was inside of Hyunjin's house felt like an eternity.

The look that Hyunjin gave him upon Seungmin dropping the "truth bomb" shattered Seungmin's heart into bits. He had to leave immediately, else Seungmin would do something he'd regret in the long run.

He throws his car door open and takes his seat, keeping in mind the distinct empty void inside of him. He sits back and sighs, a wave of relief washing over his distress. At the feel of his phone vibrating, he checks to see a notification from a new unknown number. Seungmin raises an eyebrow and shakingly clicks on the message.

You received a message from *** - *** - ***!

*** - *** - ***: Hey, Seungmin. I don't know if you're getting this but the others and I will be celebrating Sung's and my birthday tonight. If you have time, please respond! Hope you're well, from Lix!

Seungmin feels a pang in his heart as he reads the text. He had blocked all their usual phone numbers, so it makes sense that Lix would try to contact him with another phone number, but that wasn't what hit him the most. It was the fact that Lix still had faith in him and was willing to still reach out to him.

Seungmin desperately wants to respond, his thumbs a millimeter away from pressing the messaging app.

However, he is interrupted when his phone rings, the screen flashing to reveal his mother's caller ID. Seungmin bites his lips, refraining from rolling his eyes but he picks up nonetheless.

"Seungmin, I hope you didn't forget about our dinner appointment tonight. I'm sure we'll be able to see you arrive at the scheduled time in the proper attire," his mother gets right to the point.

"Yes, mother. 8:00 PM sharp, no second later, in business casual, correct?" Seungmin asks.

"Correct. See you then, Seungmin," his mother says before hanging up.

Seungmin slumps into his driver's seat.

'There goes THAT idea', he thinks (not that he would've been able to go be with them anyway).

'They probably still despise you for what you've done... Besides... Hyunjin will be there...'

Seungmin lets out a fragile sigh before starting his car and driving back to his old home.

He enters through the door of his old home for the second time of the day and makes his way to the kitchen to take a seat on the counter. Sure, he remembered about the chair that was in his old bedroom but... he is staying as far away from that corner of the house as possible.

With how shitty he feels at the moment, all he cares about is his need for emotional support. It's dangerous enough to be alone with nothing but his thoughts to accompany him.

'I hope he's still free,' Seungmin prays to himself as he dials the person in mind.

"What's up?" the person on the other line says.