unrequited

22

Somehow we managed to sneak by Chanhee's room. His earbuds were connected to his cassette tape, and he was buried in a pile of books and paper. Luckily my parents weren't home yet.

Changmin and I went into the shared bathroom and he quietly closed the door and dug into the cabinet to find the first aid kit.

I stared at myself in the mirror in shock. There was a quarter sized bruise forming right below my eye, my lower lip was bleeding, and there were scrapes all over.

"Did I pass out for a second earlier?" I asked as Changmin sprayed antibacterial on a cloth.

"Yeah. Sit here," He patted the sink counter and I hopped onto it. "You scared the shit out of me."

"I think it was more from shock than anything," I answered.

"It must have been scary," Changmin stood between my legs and gently swiped the cloth on my lip, my arms, and my knee.

He tore open bandaid after bandaid and gently placed them on my skin. I felt a tingle everywhere he touched, and it was sad to think that I was slightly enjoying this.

He reached his hand up and softly touched below my eye. I studied him, to see if there was any possibility he was standing so close because he wanted to. But all I saw in him was worry.

Changmin cleared his throat and stepped back.

"How long has this been going on?" He asked. "I mean you're involvement with Eunjung."

"I.... not long," I lied.

Changmin took a crumple of papers out of his pocket. "I found these from the scene of the crime."

It was the essays I spent all afternoon writing.

"So when I saw you outside of the bathroom recovering from a cry you lied to me." Changmin said. He sounded hurt, and almost angry.

"Look you just don't understand," I said. "It was just.... you don't understand."

"And I won't understand until you explain it to me," He tilted his body closer to me.

"No it's...it's dumb. Just forget it." I said.

"I'm not gonna forget it, and it's not dumb. I'm not here to judge, I'm just trying to help you."

"It's over now it doesn't matter." I added.

"But it does matter. It involves you so--so it matters."

"It's just...." immature. And the last thing I want you to think is that I'm immature.

"Doah you're killing me here. Would you rather go tell your brother about it?" Changmin pointed towards the door.

"NO!" I shouted quickly. "Okay, okay the book club I'm in goes to school once a month at midnight to break into the library."

"And what... throw a rager or something?"

"No, we just read," I say.

The corner of his mouth twitches with amusement.

"You said you wouldn't judge!" I groan.

"I-I'm not, it's-it's no.... no I'm dead serious," He twists his mouth until it's flat and he's not smiling. "and what does Eunjung have to do with this?"

"She found out and has been threatening to tell someone so I'll do her work." I finished.

"But this is third year assignments," Changmin scanned the papers quickly. "I literally just failed the quiz about this topic."