Quiet | Seungjin

21

Hyunjin slowly woke up to the sound of pots and pans clanging together. He let out a quiet groan as he lifted his head up, a dull ache in his back from the hunched over position he was in.

The movement seemed to bring Seungmin out of his slumber, the boy letting out a soft whine as he stretched his arms and legs. He sat up and turned to look at the elder still seated next to him, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I must've fell asleep..." Hyunjin whispered, scrambling to find his phone when he thought of one thing, his mother. And just as he expected, when he found the device, there were ten missed texts and seven missed phone calls from the woman. "I have to call my mom—I'll be right back."

Even through Hyunjin didn't wait for a response, Seungmin still nodded to himself. He sat there silently for some time before getting up and stretching his back out.

"Good morning~" Mrs Kim sang when she saw her son walk into the kitchen, "did Hyunjin just get up and leave or something?"

Seungmin quickly shook his head and pointed in ten direction of the living room, not too sure where he actually went.

The woman only hummed, turning to smile as her husband joined them.

"Morning," the man greeted softly, watching as Seungmin sent him a quick smile, "I have the day off today—I was thinking we could go up to the park and go for a walk...maybe get ice cream or something."

The words barely made it past his father's lips before Seungmin was nodding, eager to spend time with the man that always had to work. He didn't get many days off work as his father never said no when his boss asked him to stay late or work overtime, but every time he did, he always spent the day with Seungmin. It was almost a tradition that once a month when his father got a day off when Seungmin wasn't at school, they would spend the day out of the house.

"Hi..." Hyunjin spoke awkwardly as he walked into the kitchen, a sheepish smile resting on his lips. Although he didn't expect Seungmin's parents to throw him out in a fiery fit of rage, he was still a bit guilty for accidentally spending the night. "I didn't mean to fall asleep last night—I'm sorry."

Mrs Kim sent the boy a soft smile before shrugging, "honey, don't worry about it, it's alright. Do you want to stay for breakfast?"

Hyunjin glanced around the room, receiving another small smile from Seungmin's father. The boy hummed, "if it's alright that I stay a little longer, then sure."

Before anybody could say another word, Seungmin grabbed Hyunjin's arm and pulled the boy down the hall. Hyunjin wasn't quite sure where they were going, but of course he had no problem following his friend.

"I just remembered," Seungmin started quietly as he reached out to open one of the closed doors in front of them. The two walked into Seungmin's bedroom, where the younger made a beeline for the wall opposite of them. "Look," he beamed, pointing to the painting Hyunjin had given him a few weeks prior.

"Oh—" Hyunjin breathed out, "you hung it up..." he stared at the canvas for a few moments as if he wasn't the one who painted the picture. No matter how hard he searched, Hyunjin couldn't find the words to express just how much that meant to him. He'd given his art work to a lot of his friends and relatives, but this was the first time somebody displayed it so proudly. "This is your room?" Hyunjin asked suddenly, trying not to get too sentimental over something so minuscule.

Seungmin nodded and walked over to sit on the edge of his neatly made bed. He watched as Hyunjin looked around his room, taking in every detail.

"Y'know I expected your room would be like this—so organized. My room is...crazy. I have stuff everywhere."

A small laugh slipped past Seungmin's lips before he worked up the courage to say, "...maybe one day I should come over...to your house."

A grin quickly spread across Hyunjin's face when he heard the boy's words. He didn't even have to think about it before he was nodding, "you should—it'll be fun."

✨✨✨

"Is school going good?"

Seungmin shifted around on the uncomfortable wooden bench underneath him and looked out at the park. After a few moments of not responding, Seungmin finally nodded, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Sometimes I still have a hard time believing you're a senior—you're still my little baby, do you know that, Seungmin? I don't think that'll ever change for me."

Turning to look at his father, Seungmin simply looked into his eyes for awhile before gently admitting, "I don't want it to."

The man smiled at the sound of his son's voice just as he did every time the boy spoke. "I have a question for you," he spoke suddenly. When he saw Seungmin nod, he asked, "so last night when I came home from work I saw you and Hyunjin asleep and you two were holding hands—which there's nothing wrong with that...but I'm just a little curious if you're a little more than just friends?"

A subtle frown formed on Seungmin's lips before he shook his head. "I really like...him," he forced out, his voice wavering as he spoke, "but I—I don't know...in what way."

"And that's okay," the man reassured softly, "whatever you feel, I want you to know that it's okay."

For some reason, listening to his father's words brought tears to Seungmin's eyes. As he grew up, Seungmin always told himself that he'd never heal enough for a real relationship with anybody. He completely ruled out the possibility of somebody wanting to put up with him.

"Hyunjin's a nice kid," the man confessed at last, "I think you two are a good pair in whatever way."

———

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