𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 ♧ SeungJin

XXXI

When Hyunjin finally made it into the lunch room the next day it felt like a million things had already happened that day. He needed to speak to his friends about this, probably explain why everyone was staring at him funny.

That morning he had seen Seungmin off, watching as he got into his mom's car and drove away. He didn't look any happier than he had been the night before, but oh well. Seungmin wasn't his responsibility anyway, he was a full grown teenager.

He had gotten a lot of questions if he was actually gay, and he had said yes to all of them, but to his surprise no one had said anything rude about it. Maybe a few girls had been upset that their chances with him had been ruined, but that was just about all.

"We have a lot to unpack boys." Hyunjin said, plopping his backpack down as he took a seat at their lunch table, "Firstly, yes I slept with Seungmin but that does not mean you can keep making those jokes about the two of us dating because we are not. It was a drunk thing."

"Does this mean I can finally gossip with Felix about it?" Jisung urged, "I have so much to tell him about what I saw—I'm actually dying here Hyunjin!"

The elder sighed, "Yeah sure, fucking go for it, but not while I'm around. Save it for a private conversation."

"So.. did you know that picture existed?" Chan asked, "Like, what was that about."

Hyunjin groaned, "Jae took that picture. Without either of us knowing I might ad. Not sure how he knew but.. he did."

"Dipshit." Jeongin shook his head, "I always got bad vibes from that guy. He gets too much handed to him. Why would he do that though? I thought him and Seungmin were friends."

Hyunjin shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know either." He pulled a granola bar from his backpack and started to unwrap it, "I'm thinking about maybe going up to him and giving him a peice of my mind. You know, a real verbal beat down."

Changbin raised his hand to gain himself attention, "I could give him an actual beat down?" He suggested.

Minho sat in silence for a moment as a few thoughts crossed his mind, "I thought we hated Seungmin. Why are we protecting him again? It almost feels like he deserved this to be honest."

The table didn't say another word. Felix slightly nodded his head, "I agree. Hyunjin, this doesn't really seem to bother you that you got outed, but that seungmin got outed. Why do you care what happens to him?"

Hyunjin thought about it for a moment but he struggled to come up with a real answer. He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess it just bugs me when people get outed before their ready, especially by their friends. I'm fine with it because I don't care who knows, but Seungmin was really adamant on nobody knowing about this.."

"I've been thinking.. it almost feels a little bit like betrayal.." Jisung mumbled, "That you're protecting him, after he bullied the rest of us."

Jeongin nodded along, "I get why you're set off by this, it's a personal thing, but uhm.. the rest of us feel like he deserves it. He's acted real homophobic to a lot of people."

"Call I karma." Chan muttered.

Hyunjin looked between the people at the table, "Are you serious?"

Felix nodded, "I don't feel bad for him, Hyunjin." He didn't sound the slightest bit guilty as he said it, and that bothered him. How could they all be so cold hearted? He understood that Felix and the rest of them didn't see how this was such a big deal, but Jisung? Minho? Two people who knew what it felt like to be closeted? For all they know, all of Seungmin's bad behavior was because he had been closeted for so long.

"You guys just don't get it. It's not like I'm befriending him, alright? I still hate him and he's still an enemy of mine, I just think it's unfair that this happened to him. You guys need to chill." He crunched up the wrapper of his granola bar, shoving it in his pocket.

The group stared at him for a moment, and then jisung finally spoke, "Right, sorry. It's not about us." He placed his face into his hand, cheek smooshing up, blocking part of his eyes. Hyunjin noticed how Minho's hand was quick to rub his thigh, comforting him quietly. Sometimes he got jelouse of those two, being so in love with eachother and all.

"Listen," Hyunjin sighed, "I still hate him for being such a dick, and there's no excuse for the shit he's done.. it's less about protecting Seungmin than it is being mad at Jae for doing that to him— 'him' being a fellow gay. Alright?"

Felix and Jeongin nodded, Jisung still moping around. Chan glanced at all of the boys seated around him, "We good?" The eldest of the group asked and the rest of them mumbled some compliance.

Hyunjin stared at the table, then let his eyes wonder to the table that Seungmin normally sits at, but he wasn't there. Right, he wasn't going to school today. Instead was a group of his 'friends' who all seemed to stare back. He quickly held up his hand, showing off his middle finger to the group of boys. They all looked away.

Hyunjin wondered why he was being treated so kindly. This was an extremely homophobic school in the middle of Korea, so how come he was more or less unaffected. Especially while people had been sending Seungmin death threats at the same time. It was a double standard clear as day.

They hated Seungmin for being gay, and made that clear, but no one dared to say a word of it to Hyunjin? He wasn't sure why. Maybe because of the reputations they had built prior to the incident.

There was one thing Hyunjin was aware of though: when Seungmin walked through the school doors again, he would have a huge target painted to his back.