ℙ𝕃𝔸𝕐 𝔽𝕆ℝ 𝕃𝔸𝕌𝔾ℍ𝕊 ✔ ¨°ʰʸᵘⁿʰᵒ°¨

¨°eleven°¨

ᵉᵈⁱᵗᵉᵈ

Inside, their friends were still the same as they left them. Minho scurried inside first, and Hyunjin followed soon after. No one seemed to notice the strange attitude of their friends. Jisung had a deep frown drawn on his forehead with a big pout and threw his cards on the table. He got a sympathetic pat on his shoulder from Chan and a taunting snicker from Changbin.

Felix woke up a little dazed from the sudden movement of Changbin's laughing shoulders and looked up with half-hooded eyes. He captured Minho's lost face and then saw Hyunjin coming in right behind the dancer. He looked back and forth between them, trying to figure out what was wrong and how much he had missed when he dozed off.

"Guys, Jeongin and I found a new place on our social. Tonight's the grand-opening. Wanna go?" Seungmin asked and turned Jeongin's phone toward his friends to show the place he mentioned. "It's not far from here, we can walk."

"I'm in. Don't want to play Uno for the upcoming months," Jisung sulked and then chugged down the last bit of his beer. His sleeved arm wiped off his mouth and let out a burp.

"You gross motherfucker.." Changbin witnessed the disgusting display of his friend on the other side of the table and turned away to face Minho. "You going too?" He then looked behind the brunet to simultaneously ask Hyunjin as well.

"I'm not sure if I'm in the mood," was Minho's truthful answer. The weird ache in his stomach was making him nauseous and he was not really in the highest spirit. Normally he loved to join his friends to check out new places in the city, that's how they found this chicken and beer bar, but tonight he thought he was going to pass.

"Oh? Did something happen?" Chan asked, worryingly. Now all eyes were focused on the dancer and he could feel the tall blond's burn holes in his back. He stiffened by the sudden heavy attention on him, not sure what to say now. To be fair, he didn't know how to formulate his feelings into words in his head, let alone speak them out loud.

"No, nothing. I'm just tired from work. I think I demanded a little too much of my body today." For the second time this evening; not a lie, but not the whole truth. It was becoming a habit to keep things from his friends and it made the feeling in the pit of his stomach not any better.

"Okay, alright. Are you okay if we go, hyung? Or do you like one of us to come with you?"Jeongin asked with a genuine expression on his face. He was very fond of Minho and wanted nothing more than the best for his friend. He would drop everything if the older asked him for help. Like the dancer had done so many times for him. Minho was like an extra big brother, and the thought of that made his heart swell.

"I'm fine, Innie.. go have fun. I want to hear all the in's and out's tomorrow." Minho deepened his smile when he saw the unsurety of the youngest and the others. He wanted to get out of this sudden spotlight and just crawl under his blanket with a pillow between his legs and another strangled in his arms.

They all gathered their stuff and paid, and walked outside. Seven stood together and one alone.

"You sure about going home alone?" Felix now asked one last time, his eyes betraying his concern. "We don't mind going with."

Minho pulled his right hand out of the pocket of his denim jacket and shooed them away with a wave. "Just go, I'm a grown man, I can handle myself." This time a meaningful smile lingered on his face. Seeing the idiots he called his friends in front of him made him happy. They were all affected by the alcohol but they still knew the importance of him. It made him grateful and he never wanted to mess that up. Ever.

His gaze halted when he reached the tallest of the group. Hyunjin's brows were knitted together as he chewed on his lower lip; something he did unknowingly when he was lost in his thoughts. Minho secretly wanted to know what was going on in that pretty head of his but he was aware that this was not the time to ask. So he took a physical step back—and one mentally. Maybe it was better to have some more breathing space.