Nocturnal Buddies ✩ Yang Jeongin

Chapter 22

The early sun shone into the room, dimly lighting it up, as it creeped around the curtains. Jeongin laid on his back, limbs sprawled across the comfort of his bed. His face was gently kissed by the faded light infiltrating his bedroom, bringing life to his features. The young boy began stirring in his sleep, tossing onto his side to avoid the incoming sunlight. His attempt to fall back asleep was disturbed when the sounds of his members, running down the hall, quickly drew him out of his once peaceful slumber.

A groan escaped the boy's lips as he squeezed his eyes together, trying to force himself to fall back asleep. However, the incoherent shouting that began to travel throughout the dorm from Minho and Seungmin made it hard for the younger boy to do so. Jeongin threw his blanket over his head in a desperate attempt to block out the sounds, before a knock sounded seconds later, causing him to finally give up on going back to sleep.

He threw the cover off himself before begrudgingly sitting up in his bed. His wild morning hair stretched out in various directions as he scratched the back of his head. The overwhelming amount of tiredness rushing over him made it difficult for him to open his eyes, a yawn falling from his lips at his failed attempt to do so. After a few more tries, he managed to crack his eyes open halfway.

His attention shifted towards the door as it slowly opened, eyes blinking to adjust to the change in lighting. Felix peeked his head into the room shortly after before his eyes landed on his friend, who was clearly not fully awake yet. A smile creeped on his lips as he greeted the younger boy, receiving an incoherent "good morning" in response. A brief conversation was held between them about today's schedule before Felix left, closing the door behind him.

Jeongin let out another yawn before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He sat there for a while, blinking away his tiredness, before finally leaving his room. The sounds of his chaotic members rang throughout the dorm, as he lethargically dragged himself to the bathroom. He performed his morning routine as Seungmin ran down the hall, escaping from Felix who was following in pursuit.

The chaotic energy contradicted the tired boy's mood, who wasn't feeling like his usual self. His head throbbed as a headache threatened to onset with the ongoing commotion. Water ran down his face, running off his jawline and diving into the sink, as he stood there with his eyes closed. He ran his hand down his face, trying to wear off the overwhelming amount of tiredness that made it hard to keep up his usual personality.

A sigh fell from his lips when nothing seemed to be working. After one last attempt, he gave up and moved back to his room, going to get ready. Each task was done slowly, and he started to convince himself that he shouldn't practice today. He shook his head at the overbearing negativity and tried to be more positive. With the little motivation he had, he found himself in the living room, waiting for his other members to finish getting ready.

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The younger boy's quietness didn't go unnoticed by his members, who could tell he was being more negative than usual. Every tiny mistake made Jeongin huff out in pure frustration, before apologizing for something that would not be seen by anyone else. Chan called for a break after it became clear the younger boy was putting himself down too much. Despite that, Jeongin proceeded to practice the moves by himself. With eyebrows furrowed, he eventually stopped and dropped to the ground.

"I can't do it."

Those simple words ran through his mind, further trapping him inside the mental prison plagued with negativity. Upon realizing this, he attempted to push it aside with positive thoughts, telling himself that he can do it. However, it felt too forced when he wanted it to feel natural. His lips pulled into a frown as he stared at himself in the mirror, the reflection of someone he was more familiar with- a disappointment.