karaoke machine | p.js

3.02

"Alright, are you going to tell us what's wrong? Or are we just going to have to guess?" Renjun said as he plopped down on the couch next to Jisung, who had been staring off into space for the past five minutes during the break.

Chenle looked up from his phone to share a look with Renjun. They had both noticed Jisung's spaced-out expression throughout practice. He made more mistakes than usual which was uncharacteristic for him seeing as Jisung typically had the dances down perfectly.

Renjun's voice had snapped Jisung out of his thoughts and he looked up to find him looking at Jisung with a concerned expression. For a moment Jisung was brought back to the time when he and Naerin first broke up.

He hated all those worried and sympathetic expressions. For an entire week after it happened, everyone was walking around him like they were on eggshells. No one dared bring up Naerin's name, now it seemed like she was only a faint memory in everyone's mind.

Jisung looked down at his hand, his eyes falling onto the silver ring that adorned his ring finger. It was a simple ring, two thin bands that eventually came together as a knot in the middle. It felt heavy on his hand and every time Jisung had a moment to think he could clearly feel how it sat on his finger.

When Jisung didn't say anything Renjun sighed and leaned back into the couch. "Alright, fine, don't tell me. I'll just assume that you stole some of Chenle's snacks,"

"You stole my snacks?" Chenle looked at Jisung incredulously.

Jisung almost laughed at his friends but it only portrayed as a brief smile before it was quickly swept away again. Jisung let out a loud groan and fell back onto the couch, his hands coming up to rub his face tiredly.

Renjun and Chenle looked at each other once more before leaning back onto the couch to see Jisung's face better. They didn't say anything, they knew Jisung was getting his thoughts together and would eventually tell them what was wrong. So they waited patiently until Jisung dropped his hands back to his lap.

"Hyung," Jisung said, "Do you know what Naerin's been up to recently?"

Renjun's eyes widened in shock. This had been the first time Jisung brought up Naerin since the two broke up two years ago. Renjun knew Jisung thought about her a lot, but the younger boy rarely spoke about her. It was a delicate topic, especially considering that everyone except Jeno and Haechan found their soulmates.

Renjun glanced at Chenle, who gave a subtle shake to his head indicating that Renjun shouldn't tell Jisung what the two of them knew. Renjun pressed his lips together and Chenle let out a sigh.

Jisung noticed this whole interaction. The two of them were keeping something from him, it was obvious.

"Do you guys know something?" Jisung asked.

Renjun sighed and gently placed a hand on Jisung's shoulder, "What's really going on, Jisung? You never talk about Naerin. Why now?"

Jisung looked down at the ring on his hand again, "It's her birthday today," he said softly. But that wasn't the main reason he was thinking about her. Granted, every time Valentine's Day came around, Jisung always felt heavy in his heart.

The excessive displays of love were enough to make Jisung sick. But it wouldn't have mattered as much to him if it wasn't her birthday. It occurred to Jisung every year February 14th came around but he had never celebrated a birthday with Naerin, whether it be his own birthday or hers.

"And I saw her today," Jisung's voice sounded loud even though it barely came out in a hushed whisper, "I saw her in the recording studio hallway."

Renjun's eyes flickered to Chenle before going back to Jisung. The two boys were silent for a decent amount of time and Jisung began to realize something. Their silence was telling, Chenle was never the type of person to be silent when hearing big news like this and Renjun was similar.