NOISE

16.

„Good morning, sleepyhead", Jisung said, watching him limp through the living room. He raised his head, seeing Jisung sit on a bar stool, drinking a cup of coffee. „Morning", he mumbled sleepy, gently rubbing his eyelids with his knuckle. „How long did I sleep?", he asked, taking the bar stool next to Jisung. The younger one had prepared tea for him and he wondered how Jisung knew that he was drinking tea in the morning. He could only think of two options, either Chan the blabbermouth told him or, and that option was making more sense, Jisung simply noticed, just like he noticed everything.

„It's almost eleven", Jisung retorted, taking a sip of his coffee. „I guess you needed that sleep." Minho grimaced. He was used to getting up before sunrise, how could he sleep so long? „Why didn't you wake me?", he complained, removing the tea bag from his mug. „I woke up twenty minutes ago", Jisung said and shrugged his shoulders. „Besides, you looked really cute sleeping so peacefully." He squeezed Minho's thigh, placed a peck on his reddening cheek and got off the bar stool.

„Shut up", he mumbled, hiding his blushing face behind the mug, taking a sip of the tea. Vanilla and caramel. He figured Jisung liked vanilla scented things, or maybe just sweet things in general. It made him smile, thinking about the fact that his hair smelled like vanilla now as well.

He turned around, watching Jisung cross the room. „Where are you going?", he asked, his legs were tangling off the stool. „My father wants talk to me", he responded and turned around to face Minho. „Just wait here, it's probably not gonna take long." Minho nodded, a strange feeling spread in his stomach. He slid off the bar stool, slowly limping through the living room, taking the time to let his eyes wander over the bookshelves and decoration in Jisung's apartment. Jisung was into thrillers and psychology, Minho couldn't find a single book about romance. „Damn", he muttered, picking a book and reading the description on the back. A serial killer on the run from the police, hiding in people's basements until he gets caught. „What the fuck", Minho whispered, visibly disturbed by the genre. He limped through the hallway, noticing Jisung let his door open, just a crack. A loud voice made their way through the long, with light flooded hallway into Jisung's small apartment.

„You had to get an anonymous hint to find out?", he heard a familiar voice – Jisung's father. He slowly opened the door and limped through the hallway, stopping at the top step of the staircase, focusing on not making a single noise. His heart was beating faster, his breath was going flat and unsteady. He didn't hear Jisung say a single word.

„And it took you this long to have the idea of checking the cameras? You're useless!", he heard Jisung's father yell from downstairs, followed by a loud noise that made the blood freeze in his veins and his stomach churn. His breath was going faster, his palms became sweaty. He was suppressing the urge to run down the stairs to help Jisung. „I expect you to take care of it. Send your little friend home and fix this!", the principal spat out and the only noise Jisung made was a pain inflicted groan before silence filled the whole building.

He heard Jisung's fast steps on the stairs and thought about rushing back into the apartment, pretending like nothing happened, but his legs wouldn't move, until it was too late and he locked eyes with Jisung. And even if he made it back into the living room in time, both his noise and body language would reveal the truth. His mouth opened, not a single sound coming out of him. Jisung's eyes got darker, he took the last two steps at once, grabbing Minho's wrist roughly and dragging him back into the apartment.

„Wait", Minho whined, trying to follow him without passing out from the pain that shot through his leg. „Hannie, my knee", the pain was getting unbearable and his vision got blurry. Jisung closed the door, letting go of Minho's wrist. „I told you to wait in the living room", he choked out, followed by a strained exhale, his eyes were gleaming in the dark hallway. „I'm sorry", Minho whispered breathless, holding onto the wall in the hallway, trying to shake off the dizziness. „What did you hear?", Jisung asked, his voice being raspy and he took a step towards Minho.