Quiet | Seungjin

31

"Good morning," Mrs Park spoke softly as she followed Seungmin back into her office. She sat down in her chair and watched as the boy made himself comfortable on his own. He looked up at her and smiled when he was situated.

"Have you been doing good?" She continued, "did anything big happen that I should know about?"

Watching as a small smile formed on Seungmin's lips, the woman urged, "it can be good or bad—you don't only have to tell me the bad stuff."

"I..." Seungmin started breathlessly, the sound of his own voice nearly making him jump, "I went on a date."

"You went on a date...was it with the same boy you were talking about last time?" She paused to flip through her papers, "...what is his name—oh Hyunjin. Did you go out with Hyunjin?"

He nodded, still smiling at just the sound of the elder's name.

Mrs Park took a few quiet seconds to write a couple things down before she proceeded with her questioning, "does that mean you told him about your crush?" When Seungmin shook his head, her eyebrows knit together, puzzled by the situation.

"He..." Seungmin started weakly, having a hard time getting much of anything to come out that morning.

"Oh—he told you? About his...feelings?" A sigh of relief fell from her lips when Seungmin nodded, finally decoding who told who what.

Somewhere around twenty minutes passed as Mrs Park badgered Seungmin with questions about what happen and the boy did his best to answer her. She could tell he was only a few more answers away from shutting down. Seungmin's hands were gripping at the material of his jeans and his voice got quieter with every words he spoke.

She decided to ask the most pressing question in what could've been her last attempt to get any sort of information. "How did you feel when you were out with Hyunjin all by yourself?"

The only response she got was since. Seungmin only stared at the woman in front of him as he processed her words. He tried to process her words, but he couldn't think clearly.

With clenched fists atop his knees, Seungmin could've sworn his whole body went numb. All of his limbs felt as if they were vibrating.

"Seungmin?"

He tuned the woman out, just trying to breathe as the beating of his heart quickened. She leaned forward in her chair and extended a hand towards his shoulder, but quickly pulled it away after thinking about it.

Although he could hear her talking to him again, Seungmin couldn't understand her. He just decided to close his eyes, finding a sort of peace in the darkness hidden behind his eyelids.

1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10, he counted out in his head, starting from the beginning when his heart beat didn't seem to chance. It took Seungmin a few more tries before his heart and lungs finally made a silent agreement to still.

Hesitantly, Seungmin blinked his eyes open and slowly opened his still balled fists.

"Do you need a minute?" Mrs Park asked softly before glancing at the clock and adding, "we only have about ten minutes left—we can just call it a day if you need to."

Seungmin only shrugged. It's not like he ever wanted to talk to Mrs Park, but he didn't mind that for the first time since they started she wanted to talk about Hyunijn instead of it.

"How about I just ask you some yes or no questions and you can nod, alright?"

He sent her a quick thumbs up, satisfied with the compromise.

"Ok...let's see...do you touch Hyunjin?" Noticing the confused look on Seungmin's face, the woman clarified, "I'm not asking you a weird question—I just mean in the sense of like hugging or putting an arm around his shoulder—or even just like a high five."

He nodded.

"Does Hyunjin touch you?"

He nodded again.

"Does...does Hyunjin ask before he makes any sort of contact with you?"

There were a few moments of no response before Seungmin did a so—so gesture with his hand.

"Sometimes?" When she saw him nod, Mrs Park asked one final question, "Do you want him to tell you...or ask before he touches you?"

Seungmin shook his head, not taking even a few seconds to think about his answer.

✨✨✨

After his appointment, Seungmin walked towards the waiting room, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he saw Hyunjin's mother sitting behind the receptionists desk.

"Hi honey," she said, her fingers still clicking away at her keyboard while she finished the sentence she was writing. It only took a few more seconds before she looked up at the boy in front of her, a smile forming on her red lips.

The two just looked at each other for some time, Mrs Kim having to fight the urge to reach out, pinch his cheeks, and yell something along the lines of I can't believe such a handsome body went on a date with my son—but for the sake of professionalism, she didn't.

"Same time next week?" Her voice broke the silence and nearly made Seungmin jump as it bounced off the walls.

He quickly nodded.

"I know I shouldn't really be talking about personal matter when I'm at work—but I don't see you anywhere else," rambled the woman, "I would just love it if you came over for dinner some time this week."

A small hum came from Seungmin before he glanced down at his phone, seeing the text from his mother that she was waiting for him in the parking lot.

She noticed his eyes darting from the door back to her and quickly added, "I'll have Hyunjin text you about it sometime—you don't have to make up your mind right this second, alright?"

Sending the woman a thankful smile, he waved to her and hurried out the doors towards his mother's car.

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