Quiet | Seungjin

35

"Seungminnie~" Shuhua smiled as she skipped into class and slid into the seat next to her friend, "you'll never believe what just happened."

Seungmin turned towards the girl and raised an eyebrow, trying to show his curiosity.

"Soojin asked me to come to the mall with her this weekend—just us."

He sent her a smile, whispering a small, "wow~"

She nodded furiously, a smile of her own plastered across her face. "I'm like beyond excited—like I don't even know how the hell to describe how I'm feeling right now," she rambled.

"Why are you so excited?" Hyunjin asked as he sat on the other side of Seungmin. He leaned towards the girl, interested in whatever was making her so happy.

"Me and Soojin are going to the mall together this weekend! Alone!"

"Oh that's great!" Hyunjin responded, now understanding the excitement, "is this the first time you're hanging out together?"

The girl nodded.

"Are you nervous?"

She nodded again.

"Just be yourself—don't act any specific way to try and impress her."

"I'll try my best—I'm just hoping I won't feel super nervous while we're actually out because then I'll just make it weird..." she rambled.

Their conversation died down as Ms Jessi walked into the center of the classroom, the other students following their lead as the room silenced. After she explained what they were supposed to do for the day, she gave them time to work on it.

Instead of starting the work assigned, Hyunjin turned and looked at the boy sitting next to him. Seungmin had already begun the worksheet, diligently answering the questions.

He sat there silently, admiring Seungmin's face as he thought through the answers. He loved looking at Seungmin. His boyfriend.

It still felt surreal that Seungmin was actually his boyfriend. He was his boyfriend and Hyunjin didn't even have to use the stupid plan Jisung and Felix tried to come up with.

"Seungmin," he whispered at last, catching the younger's attention.

Looking up from his paper when he heard his name, Seungmin glanced over at Hyunjin and sent the boy a soft smile.

"Hi," Hyunjin whispered as Seungmin reached out for one of his hands, trapping it between both of his, "the weekend felt really long and I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

Seungmin was trying his best to listen, however, he was more preoccupied with fiddling with Hyunjin's hand. Hyunjin wiggled his fingers around in an attempt to regain the boy's attention. The younger seemed a bit more anxious than usual...but that wasn't really out of the ordinary when he was at school.

"Do you want me to stop talking to you so you can focus on your work?"

It didn't take long before Seungmin was shaking his head. He felt the same way—he has missed Hyunjin over the weekend. Even on the days they didn't see each other, they always had a small conversation over text before bed. Even so, he missed holding Hyunjin's hand and hearing his voice.

"Do you..." Seungmin started hesitantly, the words not quite coming out with any sound, "do you want...to come over?"

"After school? Of course I want to come over."

"Ok."

"Ok," Hyunjin agreed, a smile permanently etched across his face, "I was trying to paint something this weekend because I haven't painted in forever—but I could only think about you."

The younger blushed.

"And I was scared to try to actually paint a portrait of you...because that's putting a lot of faith in my skills...so I just painted this." The conversation paused as Hyunjin rummaged through his backpack, searching for the painting. After a few moments, he pulled out a small watercolor painting, sliding it across the table. "I don't know if you think this stuff is dumb—but I don't know sometimes I just—sometimes I can't stop thinking about you and this felt like my best option."

Taking the rough edged piece of paper into his hands, Seungmin studied the colors as his thumb ran across the textured surface. To his surprise, it was a painting of the ocean. It was a dark blue ocean with the sun setting on the horizon.

Hyunjin reached over and pointed at the boy perched in the sand, "that's supposed to be me," he explained, "and you're the ocean."

The younger stayed silent for a while longer, examining every detail of the artwork. Sometimes he wondered why Hyunjin still thought so highly of him even after everything he knew. He wasn't quite sure what it was that Hyunjin saw in him. But some how, the elder saw him as the ocean. Whether that be the tranquility or the unpredictability of the water...he wasn't quite sure. Whatever it was the good or the bad, Hyunjin was still there painted in front of him.

"It's really pretty," Seungmin whispered.

"You can keep it if you want. I don't really like to keep the stuff I make...and plus I made it for you."

Humming, Seungmin reached down and pulled out one of his folders, sticking the painting in the pocket and carefully closing it. "I...I like to keep the stuff you make," he stammered quietly.

"Hey," Felix chirped as he walked up to their table, "I really don't want to do any work right now,"

Seungmin smiled at the boy.

"Hi," Hyunjin spoke for both him and Seungmin.

"Bin was texting me all morning but I think he's at the gym now because he stopped answering. Now I'm just bored."

Seungmin leaned towards Hyunjin and quietly asked, "Changbin?"

"Felix's boyfriend that's not his boyfriend," the elder explained.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"That's what i said."

"Jisung is actually doing his work because he said he's almost failing this class...so I have nobody to talk to."

"I'm glad we're your last choice..." Hyunjin muttered, "but we're not really doing anything too interesting."

Felix only shrugged at his friend's words. "What are you doing after school?"

"Me and Seungmin are hanging out."

"You should let me and Ji come with—you're always with Seungmin. You don't leave any time for us."

"That's because Seungmin likes me the most."

The younger in question smacked Hyunjin's arm lightly, turning to whisper, "let them."

"You're sure?" Hyunjin watched as his boyfriend nodded, an almost excited smile on his lips. "Okay," Hyunjin breathed out, "you can come over too."

———
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