WHAT. [zb1]

realization, or rather, the lack of

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

"what do you guys think matthew's doing?" hanbin speaks up, shoveling a mouthful of his food into his mouth, ignoring the looks from his friends. after quickly swallowing his food, he continues, "he was acting kind of..."

"weird?" yujin finishes. the others quickly nod in agreement, all having seen how disassociated matthew had been from the entire group before abruptly leaving. and they'd all quickly noticed the change in behaviour from him, because, usually, matthew was the one most attentive towards the conversations.

hanbin nods. "should one of us go check on him?" he questions. and, while he seems fairly uninterested on the outside, he does feel worry bubbling up inside of him, because he's not used to seeing matthew like this.

"i'm sure he's fine," taerae speaks up, which is probably the first things he's said on the situation, and jiwoong scoffs.

"we should still make-"

"i'll go check on him," gyuvin finally says, causing all eyes to land on him. "i'm done eating anyways"

gyuvin doesn't catch jiwoong's thankful smile as he stands, because he's also fairly concerned for matthew.

the group of eight didn't usually show their true affection towards one another because they were such a tight-knit group, but everybody knew that they cared for one another. even if some showed it less than others, even if they spent most of their time making fun of each other, it was always just a known fact.

"tell him to get the fuck back here," ricky mumbles through a mouthful of food, pulling gyuvin's attention towards him for a quick moment before he averts his eyes. all gyuvin can do is nod - he can't tell if the nervousness that takes over him in that moment is worry for matthew or something else.

but that wasn't the focus right now.

"i'll be back," he mutters, turning in a quick motion towards where matthew had disappeared moments before, and finally making his way towards the corner of the building.

and, unsurprisingly, he can actually hear matthew. he'd always had a slightly louder voice, and it carried to gyuvin before he even turned the corner. plus, he had a distinct speaking voice.

"do you think you'll ever tell them who you are?"

gyuvin didn't plan to listen in. he found matthew, he knew where he was, so all he had to do was tell the others that matthew was likely talking to somebody else. but his attention was caught, locked in place, the moment he heard those words.

"maybe"

his hands travel to the corner of the school wall, curiosity peaking at its highest - he didn't want to intrude, but it was almost impossible not to.

just as a silence inserts itself within the conversation, gyuvin takes his chance at peeking around the corner. his heart was beating because, while his mind was telling him to mind his business, it was also unwavering in its need to see who he was talking to.

"you know you have to eventually"

he doesn't register the scene at first, because his eyes can only make out the back of matthew's blue and black sweater, who's a few steps away from where gyuvin is. matthew speaks again, "i cant just pretend you don't know forever"