forest || minsung

38

Jisung had noticed the patches of scratched skin on Minho's arms, alright. A sign of distress, was it not?

But why, Minho? Why won't you tell me the things that bother you? I want to be there when you need me.

He hadn't had the time to address the red marks when they made their way to school, but you bet he grabbed his hand and led him away from the cafeteria during lunch. He brought him outside, breathing in the fresh air.

They found a private corner. 'Min.. Why do you never tell me the things that trouble you?'

Minho looked rather startled by the straightforward way he asked, but Jisung preferred to not endlessly beat around the bush. Apparently some people thought him rude for it, but he couldn't care less.

He opened his mouth, and closed it again, thinking for an answer. 'I don't know. I guess I don't want to bother you all the time.'

Jisung frowned. 'I'd rather you talk to me than do this,' he mumbled, grabbing his arm and softly rubbing over the irritated skin with his thumb.

Minho bit his lip, unsure what to say to that.

'Please just.. tell me, call me, whatever. About anything. I'm here, yeah?'

His boyfriend stayed silent for a moment, then nodded. 'Alright.' He wouldn't meet his eyes.

There wasn't much more to say, for now. They returned to their friends, hand in hand.

That afternoon they strolled through the park together.

'I'm going to the club tonight with Hyunjin,' Minho said.

Jisung blinked. 'Huh. Okay. Make sure to stay safe, and call me if you need help. Or well, call the emergency numbers first if you really need help.'

Minho laughed. 'Yes, mom.'

Jisung looked sideways and winked at him. The other looked slightly flustered, but grinned.

His grin faded when he tried to bring up a more serious topic.

'Okay, look. I'm sorry for not telling you much about how I'm doing. I'm just not very good at explaining and I cringe majorly at explaining how I feel, so I'd rather just avoid it,'

Jisung opened his mouth to say something, but Minho was already rambling on. 'Obviously I know that that's not how it works so I'll try my best. Uhm, so, the last few days I've been panicking at night. I don't know what it is. It started that evening you left and I told my dad I'm bi. Maybe it was because he started about my mom, or.. I don't know. And I know you don't like hearing that I'm not doing good, love. But you do want to know, so I'm sorry for not telling you.'

He blushed at the casual nickname thrown into the conversation, but cast it aside as worry over his boyfriend set in. 'Oh, shit. I didn't know,' he frowned.

'You couldn't have,' Minho smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. He squeezed his hand.

He looked at the carvings in a tree they passed. 'D + P' it said, with a heart around it, though there was a big cross through it. He thought of all the poor trees, suffering from unrealistic eternity.

Eventually they each went their own way. Jisung entered their apartment, only to hear the noise of things crashing down on the floor in the kitchen.

He checked his watch. Yejun was still supposed to be at work. He grabbed the skateboard that was catching dust in the hallway for quite a while now. There weren't many things there he could use as a weapon, so this would have to do.