look after you | hyunin

xxi

cw // underage drinking

a few days pass by after jeongin went through with the plan.

he's been in contact with the police. understandably, the process for setting up the trial has been overwhelming him. jeongin has been doing his part, sure, but that doesn't make it any easier.

"jeongin?"

hyunjin taps the boy on the shoulder for the third time in the past few minutes.

the group of 8 is hanging out at hyunjin's since the weekend just began. the day after he went back home, jeongin had gone back to school. he's had better days, but he doesn't want to miss more.

"innie?"

jeongin blinks himself back to reality after zoning out for a few minutes.

"yeah?"

"how are you doing?" hyunjin asks softly as he sits beside the boy on the living room couch.

"i'm alright, hyung, i've already told you," jeongin laughs softly. however, the drink he's been nursing in his hand said otherwise.

"you don't drink," the older gestures to the alcoholic beverage. "you're not-"

"can you just leave me alone? i'm not a little kid, you know. i can handle myself," the redhead snaps. he isn't full-on drunk yet, but he's bordering on a little more than tipsy.

"you're kidding me, right?"

you see, hyunjin's parents are at a friend's house, so he took the initiative and told his friends they can drink if they so pleased. chan and minho are of age, so they took the offer right away.

the younger boys are being monitored by the older boys. this means hyunjin has been keeping an eye on jeongin all evening.

he didn't expect the boy to do much of anything. all of their friends are respectful of each other's preferences and limits, so jeongin could've easily just had nothing and been fine.

of course, he didn't pass up the opportunity to use one of the worst coping mechanisms possible.

hyunjin wishes he had stayed sober.

"i'm fine, jinnie. i can handle my alcohol. i'm not like my parents."

"jeongin, you've had enough," chan interferes firmly. following this, he snatches the red solo cup out of the boy's grasp.

"what the fuck, hyung-"

"i should be saying that to you," chan says. he isn't mad. he could never be mad at jeongin, however, he's beyond disappointed and worried.

"it's just alcohol!" the tipsy boy exclaims as he stands up from his seat. jeongin becomes face to face with one of his best friends, all common sense leaving his mildly inebriated body.

"and you're just drinking because you can, right? not because you're treating it like a coping mechanism? or are you treating it that way?"

jeongin's face goes blank.

seungmin's the next one to stand up. the other boys have long since quieted their own conversations and started going down to the basement or hang out in the guest room.

the only people in the room are now hyunjin, jeongin, and his two childhood best friends.

"innie, you shouldn't be drinking-"

"hyunjinnie literally said we all could!"

"we know you," chan says. "and we know you're not doing it for the same reason we are. we're just drinking for fun. you're drinking to cope. you know that a-"