NOISE

20.

„Please sit", the principal said, pointing at the same chair Minho sat on weeks ago. He took the seat, eyes fixated on the sandwich in his hand. „First of all, I wanted to thank you for tutoring my son", Minho raised his head and looked at him confused, he thought he was in trouble. „He passed all of his exams successfully." He nodded slowly, trying to hide how proud he was that Jisung passed his exams. „Have you seen my son recently?", he asked suddenly and Minho felt like he was punched in the guts. „I-", he frowned, not knowing how to answer that. „Did he teach you how to put your walls up, Lee Minho?", he threw one question after another, making Minho feel overwhelmed.

„No, I-", he was blinking rapidly. He wasn't scared about his walls breaking down, because that wasn't possible anymore, but he had a bad feeling about this situation. The principal smiled. It was a cold, distant smile and Minho remarked a hint of something he couldn't wrap his mind around just yet. „If you see my son please let him know that his college time is over and life is getting serious now. He shouldn't waste his time on useless flings and stupid projects. His actions will only cause consequences and it would be a shame if something happened to him or the people involved in his ideas, right? You can go now." Minho nodded slow, he got up and his legs automatically carried him out of the office.

He didn't notice how much his hand was shaking until Felix wrapped his fingers around his wrist, pulling him back to reality. „Minnie, is everything okay?", he asked worried, taking the sandwich out of Minho's hand. Minho slowly nodded. His nodding turned into a head shaking. Felix dragged him out of the building to a waiting Changbin at the parking lot.

„What happened?", Changbin asked as soon as he sensed Felix's pigments. Not that it was necessary. Minho was shaking so much that Changbin didn't need to use his skill to notice something was wrong. „The principal just threatened to hurt Jisung", he said, stumbling over his own words. Panic took over his body and Changbin had to push him onto the passengers seat. „What do you mean? What did he say?", Felix asked worried, still holding the sandwich. „He said", Minho choked out, his breath was going fast and his chest felt tight. Dizziness was slowly drowning him. „If I see Hannie, I should tell him college is over and life is getting serious", his voice was shaky and he pressed every second word out of his mouth, trying not to cry. „He said he should stop wasting time on flings and projects that could get him in trouble and that-", his words died in his throat. Changbin and Felix exchanged a glance. „He threatened that something would happen to Jisung or the people involved."

„Fuck", Changbin cursed, hitting the roof of his car, making Minho flinch. „Okay, give me your phone." Minho looked at him with teary eyes, handing him his phone. He watched the younger one unlock his phone and felt Felix's hand on top of his shaky, cold hands. Changbin raised his hand, calling someone and waiting for them to pick up. „Changbin here. Meet me at three behind Hyunjin's house. It's urgent", he said, not waiting for a response. He gave Minho the phone, told him to put his legs in the car and opened the door to the drivers seat. „Let's go", he said, waiting for Felix to toss the sandwich and climb onto the backseat. He drove off, not wasting a minute.

Changbin dropped Minho and Felix off in front of the building, promising Felix to pick him up and drive him home afterwards. „Let's go inside", Felix said, guiding Minho towards the door after Changbin drove off. „He's going to warn him, isn't he?", Minho asked after being quiet the whole car ride. „I'm sure he is", Felix responded, softly rubbing up and down Minho's back to reassure and console him.

„What happened?", Chan asked the second he saw Felix and Minho walk into the living room. Minho didn't have the energy to repeat himself, the first time left him drained and his head was pounding. He let Felix explain everything and walked in the kitchen to get himself a cup of tea. His hands were freezing, despite it being twenty three degrees outside.