Sanity vs. Soulmate | JeongCheol

18

"Tea?"
"I'll explain it in a second DK. Just... have a seat. All of you. Especially you, Seungkwan!!"
"Fineeee... Now hurry up!!"
"DON'T RUSH ME OR I WON'T TELL YOU ANYTHING!!"
"Hmpf..."

Let's get this shit over with. Jeonghan, prepare yourself to be called a crazy person. Because that's exactly what's gonna happen once you've finished. That's what's bound to happen.

"Okay, so first things first."
I took a deep breath and tried to calm
down. By now everyone was seated on the couch, watching me in anticipation.
There was the Junhao couple on the far left with Jun cuddled into Minghao's side. Right next to them sat Vernon and Seungkwan. They weren't as close to each other as the chinese but they were holding hands which made Seungkwan blush. There goes his confidence hehe.
Squeezed in between Seungkwan and Jisoo sat Seokmin, a smile still brightening up his whole face. He bounced excitedly on his seat until Jisoo had enough of it and pulled him onto his lap. And then there were Jihoon and Hoshi on the far right. While Jihoon tried his best to look unbothered - I didn't buy it for a second - Hoshi behaved in quite the opposite way. Excitement seemed to radiate off of him and his eyes were closely shut because he was grinning so much. They sat pretty close to each other but to my surprise and absolute horror there was absolutely no skin-ship between the both of them. No cuddling, no holding hands... WHYYYY????

Jihoon seemed to have taken a dislike to the same thing.
"I'm cold." Well that's one way to ask for a hug. I scoffed. No way this is gonna work.
"NO! JIHOONIE! YOU WILL GET SICK!! HERE! I WILL MAKE YOU FEEL WARM AGAIN!!"
I... WHAT??!! HOWWW DID THIS WORK??? How whipped is Soonoyung to fall for such a stupid trick?? And Jihoon wouldn't get sick from just being a little cold while sitting inside a well-heated house? But then again, that's common sense and logical thinking, or just using your brain in general, has never collaborated well with love.
Still, HOW are those two not dating yet??

I shook my head. "Anygays... A few years back we all used to be really close friends."
I sound like a 90 year old grandpa telling stories about his childhood. Awesome. That's what I call a nice start.
"Well except for Vernon and Seokmin that is. But I think you two know your fair share of stories about me too..."
I grimaced. I'm still not sure whether this is a good thing.
"You all know about how I lost my hearing, ran away and cut you all off for which I truly am sorry. I had reasons for my actions even though they might sound dumb but that's not the important part right now. You can ask Jihoon about it if you're curious. I don't really want to tell you the whole thing again. At least not today. I've done more talking in one single day than in the past couple of months all together. I'm a bit drained."
I smiled sheepishly.

"Long story short: I've always been too afraid to come back to you guys even when I really wanted to. And the reason why I finally had the guts to come over is that everyone else would surely call me crazy if I told them what I'm about to tell you now but I HAD to share this with someone. I'm going crazy dealing with it on my own!!"

"Cut the crap and get on with it. I. Want. The. TEA!!"
He'll never change. All hope is lost.
"Fineeee!! Give me a minute damn it..."
I imagined all kinds of torturous ways to kill him while giving him my best 'shut the fuck up' stare but Seungkwan just motioned for me to continue. Impatient brat.

"I'm unlike most people who experience some kind of hearing loss. To put it in simple words: I am completely deaf. I haven't heard a single sound since I lost my hearing. I don't experience partial hearing, I don't have a ringing inside my ear or my head and neither does it sound like a jammer. There are no muffled noises, no vague guessing of the commotions of the outside world. As you all know, implants didn't work on me either. God, I've been pissed for the longest time because everything is always silent!! It drove me nuts more than once. Everything was silent until about two weeks ago."

I took a deep breath. That's it. That's my chance to tell them. And this time I won't run. No matter how afraid I am of their reaction. I came all this way, I've been so tough today already... I can finish it. I can do this. I just got them all back. I won't loose them again. Not without a fight. I will tell them about Seungcheol and if they think I've gone mad I'll prove them wrong. Jeonghan, you can do this! Believe in yourself. You are strong. Get over with it damn it!

"I came out of one of the university buildings that day, when a guy accidentally pushed me down the stairs."
"Wait... You go to university?? I never imagined you to be smart enough to do that..."
"SEUNGKWAN. I SWEAR TO GOD. IF YOU WANT THE TEA YOU BETTER KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!!"
"Relax... I was just surprised..."
"Anyways!!!!!!!! As I was saying, he pushed me and I fell. That accident actually ruined one of my favourite jumpers. I'm still upset about it!
He basically dashed off right after and didn't even offer me a hand to get up..."
"Rude."
"But he said something. Oh shit, sorry, to be precise. Now the thing is, you're probably already guessing what I'm getting at, I didn't see him say those words. He didn't use sign language and I couldn't see his face at all. I could only see the dirt on the ground but I clearly heard those words. It was beyond weird. There were those words inside my head but nothing else. No other students, no chatter, no birds, no wind. Only this. Oh shit, sorry!"

I paused for a second. Confusion was written all over my friends' faces. I couldn't blame them. I was confused to no end myself.
"I know this sounds completely insane and you're probably just waiting for me to shout April's Fools or something and laugh my ass off over some dumb joke but please... please just hear me out! There's more and it isn't a joke. I mean every word! So please just listen!"

I waited for them to nod before I continued.
"That day I thought I just imagined things. At first I really believed I had gone insane. It's been a stressful week, I had had little sleep... Things like this could happen, right?
Then I got this second thought. What if my hearing finally came back? What if more and more sounds would stumble along and I'd be able to hear again at one point? At least a bit!! I'd gladly take anything!"

I scratched my nape awkwardly.
"Well, my hearing didn't return. No other sounds, no muffled noise, no other voices. Nothing. Just that one time with this one guy. I was ready to accept that I'd gone crazy when I heard him again. It happened yesterday. I was about to enter my lecture when I heard him again!"

Hoshi's mouth fell open. Same bro, same.
"I was very confused. It was clearly the same voice. You don't forget the sound of the only voice you were able to hear in years. You just don't. It's imprinted on your mind.
The funny thing was, he wasn't alone. A friend was with him and they were talking. But while I could easily hear HIM talk, I had to read his friends lips. Now give me an explanation for that please."

"And then??"
"Did you talk to him?"
"I bet he was to afraid and just dashed away..."
"Matter of fact, I did not, Seungkwan!! I actually talked to him. It was a once in a lifetime chance for me. I couldn't let him get away again.
The conversation itself was nothing out of the ordinary. We basically just exchanged names and phone numbers."

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and fiddled with my fingers.
"And mayhaps I told him to take me out for a cup of tea in order to make up for pushing me down the stairs and permanently staining my favourite jumper..."

I lifted my head a bit to see their reactions. Most of them just sat there, too stunned to speak or sign. And then there was Soonyoung... He kept signing the same word over and over in a very aggressive manner.
"AND? AND? AND? AND?"
Soon enough Seungkwan joined in.
"What did he say?? Tell us!! Did he reject you? Are you going on a date??"

Why did I expect anything else? Of course the fact that I could HEAR him was secondary to the fact that I asked him out...

"He said he would text me when he's free... He hasn't though. Not yet at least... It's only been yesterday that we met though. Maybe he hadn't had the time yet..."

"ONLY YESTERDAY? YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME! HE HAD A WHOLE FUCKING DAY! CALL THAT CARROT RIGHT NOW!! I DEMAND ANSWERS!!"
"I would, Seungkwan" - No I wouldn't -  "But I don't have his phone number. He's got mine but he never gave me his."

"You really are stupid, aren't you..."

Agreed Seungkwan. Agreed.

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This is nowhere near proof read, but I hope it's fine. I just wanted to give you guys a new years gift since it's been so long since I last updated. Enjoy!!
<3