DRAMA CLUB | hyunin ✔

.33

the next day, jeongin was completely immersed in his phone when it happened.

"alright. i need some answers." felix banged his lunch trail on the table, right in front of jeongin, making him jump, as well as some of the fries, that splattered across the table from the collision.

"what the hell?" jeongin protested, a hand on his chest and the other clutching his phone close, protectively, as if felix could ground him and take it away.

"and i need you to speak right into this microphone," felix aimed the speaker side of his phone towards jeongin's face.

"lix, i'm not in the mood for playing around. just leave me alone just for today, yeah?" jeongin sighed, going back to his own phone and going back to scrolling.

felix went silent for an instant, and jeongin almost forgot his presence, until felix's serious voice cut through his head.

"playing around? playing around?" felix almost shouted in disbelief.

god. jeongin wondered what the rest of the school thought of him. there was always a scene when he was around.

well, perhaps that was something to be proud of.

felix, on the other side, seemed at the brink of a heart attack... either that, or just severely constipated. he reared back, taking impulse to push himself forward again, just like a friction-powered car toy, supposedly to put emphasis on his next words:

"i have been told from reliable sources that you are in danger!" felix exclaimed, eyes wide. it was his face rather than words that alarmed jeongin.

"felix... what is even up with you these days?"

felix rolled his eyes, "okay, don't listen to the slut. i thought you were different, innie."

jeongin blankly stared at him, then made mention to go back to his phone.

felix banged on the table again. people were looking. but it seemed that felix, for once, didn't actually want to bring attention to them, and finally began to talk somewhat civilized, keeping his voice down so that only jeongin could hear:

"where were you that night at the campfire senior party?"

jeongin's head snapped up at him. felix had moved right to his side, lunch trail forgotten on the other side of the table, and eyes so wide and close jeongin could see the red veins winding across the white of them.

"why, why do you want to know?" jeongin was aware he sounded a bit defensive. did people know that hyunjin whacked chan in the head? or worse! did they think jeongin had done it? that would be bad. that would be an apocalypse trigger sort of bad.

felix kept silence for five excruciating seconds, that were enough for jeongin to mentally by an airplane ticket out of the country and starting a new life.

then felix pulled back, sitting up straight and looking down at jeongin, face full of suspicion, "i see."

jeongin felt he was growing a sweat moustache.

felix bent and reached up across the table for his lunch, ignoring the dropped fries. once food hit one of those disgusting cafeteria tables, it was no longer edible.

after around one minute of being stared at by felix while the latter slowly picked up the tomatoes off his cheeseburger and chewed on the greasy bites of cow meat, cheese and bread, jeongin could not take it anymore. he cracked.

"okay, what do you want? for the love of god, just say something, please!"

felix stuffed the rest of his burger on his mouth, and handed him a card, while he (failed) to coherently say through a full mouth something about meeting him later.

jeongin looked at the card, barely registering felix walking away. he couldn't be more confused.

it was a professional card. for the... school's newspaper?

-

jeongin stood in front of a door, and he couldn't ignore the idea that he was just about to enter a portal to another reality.

there was no rehearsal today, which could've made it all a bit less outlandish, since his mind would be completely occupied with either pretending to be someone else or get distracted by hyunjin's plump-

jeongin shooked his head and looked down at what felix gave him.

it was a simple, beige card, which didn't say much other than JANET WILSON and below, in smaller letters, room B-20.

jeongin never met anyone called janet wilson, nor had he ever been to room b-20, and he had no idea why felix would send him to this location.

but jeongin was also naturally curious. so he thought well, me be damned! and reached for the doorknob.

the door didn't open at first, and jeongin tried to wipe his hand on his jacket, assuming the cause was his sweaty hand, but as soon as he took his hand off of it, the doorknob turned by itself, the door being coached wide open to reveal a bored-looking seungmin on the other side of it. or maybe he wasn't really bored—maybe he was just born with his face like that. jeongin wasn't one to discriminate.

"oh, jeongin, come in!" he heard felix's voice behind seungmin, who was turning his back at him to cross the other side of the room, and in the meanwhile also somehow gracefully avoiding knocking down piles over piles of stray papers tucked over each other like thick books without spines laying all over the room. jeongin felt somewhat claustrophobic with the sight.

"take a seat," felix gestured a hand at some general spot among the stacks of papers. jeongin, confused, remained standing, convinced felix could visualise a eleventh dimension or something of the sorts. he wore pince-nez glasses and sat straight, entirely focused on an old computer, suddenly appearing so much older and wise, and jeongin couldn't feel more scandalised, as if felix was a hot dog without mustard: completely out of place.

the sunlight shone on the glasses as felix brought his attention to jeongin. there was a mischievous grin dancing on his lips, but not the usual one that was followed by a shameless sex joke, but something entirely different that jeongin couldn't completely grasp.

he tilted his chin up at seungmin, who was comfortably sitting on top of a block-lick pile of papers. he'd snatched a coffee mug from somewhere. it read i <3 true crime.

as jeongin watched seungmin mysteriously sip on it, felix's voice slipped into his ears like the snake that tempted eve:

"seungmin has something very important to tell you."