look after you | hyunin

xii

as if the universe knows jeongin needs a break from everything, the two boys are able to run out of the back of the school.

the lack of school security really comes in handy for them this time. the only downside is the lingering thought that jeongin's parents might not have even left the school yet. however, they've waited long enough that jeongin's mother and father probably gave up by now.

hyunjin helps jeongin in the passenger seat. he then gets in the driver's seat and looks over at the boy with worry on his face.

"are you sure you wanna go back to mine? they could go looking for you-"

"i just wanna go somewhere away from here," the younger says weakly. "i don't care where it is."

"okay, bug," hyunjin says softly as he begins to drive out of the parking lot. "we can go back to mine."

"c- can we cuddle when we get there? i don't wanna be alone right now."

hyunjin feels his heart clench for the millionth time that day. a sudden wave of melancholy washes over him.

"of course," he quietly responds.

the rest of the ride home is silent. the tense feeling in the car never goes away. hyunjin doesn't speak at all, knowing although jeongin doesn't want to be alone, he'd rather enjoy the company in silence for the time being.

the normal short car ride comes to an end. the pair finally arrives at the hwang residence.

hyunjin goes ahead first to unlock the door and the younger follows him inside. just to his luck, his parents are home from whatever endeavor they had been on this time.

"oh, no worries boys, we're about to leave for lunch so you can have the house to yours-" mrs. hwang does a double take. she fixes the pair with a confused look. "wait a minute... why did you two leave school? you still have classes, right?"

"it's a long story," hyunjin mumbles. "i'd rather not tell it for jeongin's sake."

"thank you," jeongin whispers.

that's when the woman really looks at the youngest boy. her expression softens and her heart grows heavy.

he doesn't look okay at all.

jeongin looks about as drained as he had when he moved in, if not worse. his eyes are puffy from the crying. his slouched posture emphasizes just how tired he already is from earlier's events.

"jeongin, sweetheart, you can continue to stay for as long as you need. i won't ask you what's going on. you don't need to tell me until you're ready, okay?" mrs. hwang says to the boy.

hyunjin knows she'll stay true to every word she said. his mother is too kind to say something she doesn't at least somewhat stand by. in this case, she wholeheartedly means everything she told the youngest.

"th- thank you, really," jeongin says a bit louder this time. he briefly feels tears spring to his eyes, his emotions overwhelming him yet again. he never got this type of genuine treatment from his mother at any point of his life that he could remember.

hyunjin thanks his mother and guides the two to his room. when they finally get settled, he gives the younger one of his oversized hoodies before they cuddle up in his bed.

the younger begins to doze off. this leaves hyunjin with just the mere thoughts in his head.

to be honest, after these two months, things still feel slightly awkward between the two. it's not like it's really affected their friendship, but it's there. hyunjin still thinks about jeongin telling him he doesn't like rushing friendships he wanted to keep.

was hyunjin doing everything right? did jeongin feel like things were weird between them? i mean, it's not like they're a couple or anything.

though hyunjin wouldn't mind that, they aren't about to dive into a relationship after two months of knowing one another as well as everything going on with jeongin.

the younger isn't stable for a relationship at the moment. anyone with a brain can tell. however, this doesn't bother hyunjin at all. he hasn't thought about a relationship with the younger since that phone call with jisung on jeongin's first night at the hwang household.

to be fair, apart from the obvious situation at hand, hyunjin feels content with how things were going, so he isn't planning to worry too much about it just yet.

his main focus right now is keeping jeongin safe. to be honest, he feels like he isn't doing too bad of a job.

jeongin snuggles closer to hyunjin, still asleep and visibly very peaceful.

"you're gonna be okay." hyunjin whispers. he really hopes he'll end up being right.

"i'll keep you safe, innie. i'll do everything i can."

and with that, hyunjin falls asleep.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

ah this book is intensely angsty pls bare w me

ily all i hope ur doing ok!!!

- ash

editing ash: omg just had my first ever therapy session