Meridian ◈ Seungjin

49 ◈ Black Box

"Jeongin," Hyunjin called as he caught the younger sitting alone on the steps of the dorm stairwell, head leaning against the wall. The mentioned vampire's head snapped to him, a weak smile immediately coming to his lips as he recognized the one approaching him. Hyunjin fumbled with the item in his hands as he rolled it up and set next to the younger, thigh brushing into thigh, knee knocking into knee, as he ensured he sat as close to Jeongin as the younger would allow him to be. He turned his lips up as he observed the pink on the other's cheeks and asked quietly, "Can you do something for me?"

Jeongin's hands rested in his lap. His fingers curled and tightened around the Navy blazer folded messily underneath his grip, the clutch he kept uncomfortably tense as he turned his gaze solely to the flexing of his hands. He shrunk, "It... It kind of depends."

"Please," Hyunjin whispered.

"What about Seungmin? You two are close," The younger glanced to him from the corner of his eye, beneath the concealing shade of his eyelashes casting down through his gaze like the cascading waves of a waterfall. He tightened his grip around his navy blazer again, palms kneading into the fabric in a desperate way, as if the eternal blue dye would save him from the presence of the person obviously causing his cheeks to visibly warm. That isn't yet mentioning the hurried thump of the heart in his ribcage, the distinctive sound now second nature to hear in Hyunjin's eardrums. Jeongin shuffled on the step, his arm bumping into the other vampire's as he tried to subtly readjust the blazer on his lap, "Why don't you ask him to help you out? I'm sure he's more useful than I am."

He observed the younger for a few beats.

The fidgeting of his nervous hands, jittering lightly. Out of excitement, or nervousness.

The forcing of his eyes to stay trained on his blazer. Refusing to look up. Struggling to not.

The surprised hiccup of his breath whenever they'd accident touch. Accidentally bump. Accidentally brush.

Hyunjin smiled, "Because I trust you. More than anyone else, I trust you. And I need you."

"Me?" The younger squeaked, his naïve eyes flinging wide open as he snapped his head up to the other vampire. His hands continued to knead at the fabric of his folded blazer, clutching and pulling, pressing, ironing out the wrinkles before his tight grip on the uniform wrinkled the fabric once more. His heels thumped against the rubber casing of the stairs, his knees jeering and teasing the flighting trigger of every nerve in his body vividly alive, Hyunjin recognized it. He recognized it, and he knew it, he knew all the symptoms, he memorized them. Jeongin had them, all of those telltale signs, bad. The younger vampire seemed to only dive deeper into the sea of those heighten nerves when he curled his shoulders and finally made eye contact with the other, "What... what is it? What did you need me to do?"

Hyunjin undid the rolled item and presented it to him, "Take this."

Jeongin glanced down.

"Your notebook?"

"It's one from my math class last year," The vampire explained in his classical mutter. Jeongin plucked the item from his hands. He held it in his own for a moment, before he netted a finger underneath the cover to open the contents of the presented notebook. Hyunjin quickly placed a hand over the cover, noting the way Jeongin seemed to tense in a perfect way once again. With a light laugh woven into a displeased groan, Hyunjin pleaded, "Don't. I used to scribble in it and my old drawings embarrass me. Boring stuff like,  flowers."

Jeongin stared at him. His eyes gleamed brighter as he looked at the older vampire, his weak smile widening into an adorable grin rivaling even the puffiest fluff ball bunnies and wobble legged kittens on the internet. He seemed to glow in that moment, shining brightly in the dank dust dreary of the empty dorm room corridors void of any signs of life beyond the occasional open and close of a door far away. He glimmered. He shined. But he shined because the only reflection in his eyes was Hyunjin maintaining eye contact with him. He gleamed because of the vampire siting in front of him. Because of the promise of foolish doodles on the inside of the old math notebook. Jeongin bumped their shoulders together as he giggled, "How is that embarrassing? That's really cute."