𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒔 - 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓾𝓷𝓰

𝓒𝓱; 28 𝓑𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓱𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓪𝓰𝓪𝓲𝓷

"Han Jisung, you have a visitor," the nurse announced as she entered the room. Jisung raised his eyebrow, peering his head up to look out of the door. Who could be visiting him? He wasn't expecting any visit from anyone. Then a tall male entered. Jisung didn't know what to say. What was Hwang Hyunjin doing here? "Uh, hi," Hyunjin greeted awkwardly. "Hey?" Jisung tilted his head, confused. 

"I actually came here to apologize to you," Hyunjin caressed the back of his head, avoiding the gaze of the other. He exhaled, getting rid of the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach before he spoke. "I shouldn't have blamed you for my own problems and the things I had been struggling with." Jisung didn't know what to do but fumble with his blanket. "I am really sorry for lashing out at you. I was just struggling with myself back then and I took it out on you. That was my fault and my immatureness. Can we start over again, Han Jisung?" 

Jisung scanned his expression as if looking for something, skeptical at first, but nodded. "Yes, I guess we can," he answered. 

Jisung averted his gaze, eyes flickering over every corner of the room, unsure at first if he should ask him or not, but decided to swallow the lump in his throat and do it, anyway. 

"Hyunjin, do you know more about Minho's situation?" Hyunjin was kind of caught off guard by the question as he frowned his eyebrows, looking right into the other's eyes for the first time since he entered the room. "What do you mean?" Hyunjin tilted his head.

 "I heard a bit about his father, but there must be more to it, right?" Jisung inquired. Hyunjin eyed the room, not sure where to look. Should he tell him? "He grew up alone," Hyunjin decided to tell him as he sat down next to the boy. "His parents never really paid attention to him at all. Minho was mostly left alone at home. I think that's why he eventually turned cold towards everyone. It was his way to protect himself from the world, I guess." Hyunjin finished. Jisung frowned and the other noticed it. "You were the first person that caught his eye, Jisung." Hyunjin smiled fondly, thinking about how his friend acted whenever Jisung was in the picture. 

Jisu had to discuss something with the nurse outside. She smiled back at Jisung who was finally up and standing again and walked over to him after her conversation. Jisu fixed his clothes, grabbing his shoulders. "Let's go," she spoke, earning a nod from him. He took one last look around the room he had stayed in for the last few days. Funny, he was almost started getting used to this. Jisung and his mom confirmed his dismissal. Jisung took another last look around the building, it already felt familiar to him. His mother patted his back, lightly pushing him forward to leave with her. They thanked and bid their goodbye to the employees before finally leaving the building. 

"Irene, Jaeyong, guess who's home?" Jisu's voice rang through the room as she opened the door. Irene put down Jaeyong, eyes peering over at him. She couldn't believe it until Jisung spoke. "Did you miss me?"

"Jisung." She engulfed the boy in a hug. Irene checked him up from every side. "How are you feeling now?" Jisung grabbed her by her shoulders and reassured her. "I am doing a lot better, don't worry." 

Irene frowned and looked down. "I am so sorry, Jisung. I promised I could protect them but I failed." 

"Irene, I would never blame you for whatever happened here. I am already grateful for the time you have been here for us." Then he noticed it, the large scar running all the way from her shoulder down to her arm. "What happened?" he reached out to her but she backed away. "It's nothing, Ji. It's just a scar." She deliberately looked down to avoid his gaze. Jisung's face darkened. "He did that to you, didn't he?" Irene slowly exhaled and faced him. "Forget it, it has already healed." Jisu frowned a bit and decided to break the tense atmosphere. "Jisung, take some rest. You know you have school tomorrow right?" his mother reminded him and he sighed internally. Right. School. He almost forgot that was even a thing. 

Jisung let the water stream down on him as he took a deep breath, scrubbing his entire body with soap. He looked down his chest. The stitches had formed a perfect scar on it. He still couldn't believe how he survived so much. Now he looked back at everything, he could say that he was stunned by himself. "Did all of this really happen?" he thought to himself. 

Jisung closed the door behind him and looked around his room. "Wow," he mouthed. He wasn't used to being in his own room anymore yet not a single thing had changed, except for the new covers over the bed. It has been a very long time since he has last slept in his own bed. He let his body sink into the mattress and closed his eyes contently. His own bed felt much more comfortable. Just how he liked it.  

The next day Jisung was allowed to go to school again. Getting himself out of bed so early would be hell for him to get used to again. "Maybe staying in hospital is actually better." He moved his neck to get rid of the ache. The only good thing about this is that this time he wasn't running late like usual. 

The sun greeted him 'good morning' as soon as he stepped outside. Jisung shivered, wrapping his arms tightly around himself. Spring had arrived but it was still too cold for Jisung's liking. 

"Jisung!" Felix waved and ran to him with Seungmin following behind him but at a more relaxing pace. "You're dismissed already?" the Australian asked. "The doctor said to take it easy. But the rest helped a lot so I could go, not that I wanted to," Jisung muttered the last part, sulking. "But you have your friends here, right?" Seungmin added. "And your point is?" Jisung looked at him, unbothered. Seungmin rose his hand, indicating he wanted to hit him. "Ya!" Seungmin raised his voice, earning a mischievous grin from Jisung. Felix rolled his eyes. "Same old, same old." And Felix was right, nothing had changed between the three of them. 

"Uhm, guys." Jisung cleared his throat, making his friends look at him. "Do you maybe know where Minho might be?" he inquired, afraid of the reaction he might get. Seungmin rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, which caused Felix to give him a disapproving look. "Probably in the library like usual," he answered as Jisung nodded, poking his tongue inside his mouth. "What's on your mind, Ji?" Felix asked, furrowing his eyebrows. Ever since that talk Jisung and Hyunjin had, Jisung couldn't get it out of his mind. It seemed Minho really had been struggling more than the world knew of. "Yesterday me and Hyunjin talked about Minho. Really, he is not as bad as he seems," Jisung defended him before Seungmin had a chance to say something. "You want to go to him right?" Felix smiled softly. "Go find your man if you're worried about him." Felix gave him a push to show he approved of Jisung's choice. "Seungmin has nothing to say about this." the Australian winked, making Jisung grin and thank him. "Thank you, Lix," he said before running off to the library. 

Felix sighed dreamily. "He's still in love, Seungmin." Seungmin watched the boy until he vanished out of their sight. "I know," he said. "I just don't want him to get hurt again like that, Lix." Seungmin faced his boyfriend. "I know, Minnie. But we should let him explore on his own, don't you think?" Felix stated as he continued to persuade the other. "Our opinion matters the most to him, Seungmin. I know that. If we don't support him, he'll only get discouraged. So please, try being a bit more supportive, Minnie. Please do it for Jisung." He tugged at Seungmin's sleeve, pouting as he practically begged him. Seungmin took a moment to think about it. As usual, his boyfriend was right once again. He let out a sigh in defeat. "Fine, I'll try to approve of that," he paused before letting out that name, "Minho." 

The library was really empty, perfect for a person like Minho. As long as he could be away from big crowds. Though everyone in this school always talked about him, he hated the attention he got. That's why he just mostly locked himself away in the library. Minho flipped through the pages of his book, completely unaware of his surroundings. That's why he got taken by surprise when a pair of arms wrapped around him, but he relaxed again when he saw who it was. He smiled to himself. "Hey, Love," he greeted him. Jisung leaned his head on his shoulder. "I am sorry you had to go through that all alone," he said, putting a confused expression on the other's face. "Why say that so suddenly?" Minho turned his head to the boy leaning on him. "I won't leave you alone, okay?" Jisung spoke again. Minho leaned his head against the other. 

"You being here right now is enough, Jisung." Minho muttered softly. And that's how they stayed for a while, both of them cuddled up against each other.