Night Sky Bloom

10- Orchid

The next week was fairly tense due to the group not spending as much time together. It gave Jisung plenty of time alone to tend to his plants and continue his reading, but it was hard to focus with his mind running in circles. Hyunjin was so adamant that they didn't understand Minho- that he wasn't as awful as Jisung and Seungmin believed, growing up, but he couldn't get an answer as to why or how. He'd even been direct with Minho about it and received only an irritable glare from the encounter.

Jisung sat outside his front door, carefully watering the tulips lining the stone pathway. The bright colors of the flowers helped lift his mood as he tended to them. He heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see Felix walking up the path, a friendly smile on his face.

"Hey Jisung, I was just stopping by to see if you wanted to hang out?" Felix asked.

Jisung smiled back, "Yeah that sounds good, let me just finish up here." He said before looking back over and running his watering tin lightly over the bulbs one more time for good measure. "What'd you have in mind, Lix?"

"Well, we haven't gone to town in awhile." He replied in an upbeat, almost musical tone.

"Yeah, it has been awhile." There was a reason for that. Jisung never went into town on his own accord, but he would do anything for his friends. "Alright, let me get dressed in... anything other than this." Jisung chuckled, looking down at his patchy jeans as he tried not to let anxiety preemptively seep its way into his veins over the thought of their destination. "Do we want to invite the other two?"

"You really never check our group chat, do you? Phones exist, Ji." Felix shook his head with a playful grin, his teasing tone evident. "Seungmin has other plans today, and Hyunjin is stressed about planning a party."

Jisung laughed sheepishly. "Oops, I guess I'm still stuck in the stone age with my lack of phone usage. I guess I'm just more used to talking to you guys in person. What kind of party?"

Felix's expression turned slightly awkward as he hesitated before answering. "Minho's birthday is coming up..." he trailed off, uncertain of how to continue.

Jisung nodded understandingly, sensing Felix's awkwardness about the topic.

"Lix, I promise it's okay. Are you going?" He tried to make sure his smile was as reassuring as he wanted it to be. He wanted Felix to have good friends and be able to make his own choices.

"Yeah. It's gonna be Hyunjin, Jeongin, Changbin, me, and I think Channie hyung is coming, too." He answered, kneeling down and tracing the bulb of a nearby tulip to avoid keeping eye contact with Jisung.

"I hope it's fun." He meant it. "Now come inside while I get dressed, and we can head out."

"Are you as excited for a town-trip as I am?" Felix asked with a big smile, connecting their gaze again. It looked like he was internally jumping up and down with said excitement.

"Definitely."

He didn't mean it.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

Their drive into town was a journey that unfurled like an unfolding map and was nothing short of mesmerizing; an enchanting blend of natural beauty and man-made marvels. The road weaved through undulating hills thick with emerald green grass, dotted here and there with wildflowers bobbing their heads in the soft breeze. Patches of sunlight filtered through the dense canopies overhead, casting mottled patterns on the tarmac and painting the world in a palette of gold and green.

As they got closer to the heart of town, the scenery began to shift and the comfortability began to drain from Jisung. The organic elegance of nature gave way to the structured geometry of urban architecture. Buildings rose high into the sky, their reflective glass surfaces glittering in the sunlight.