All The Little Things - Hyunho

Chapter 4

As things currently stand, Hyunjin is sure of two things. 

One. 

Minho is a jerk. 

And two. 

I.N is one of the best people he's ever met. 

Sure, Hyunjin might be a little over exaggerating when he says this, because it hasn't even been a full week since they met but he's not kidding. 

Over the course of the past week, they have spent so much time together, it basically feels like they've known each other since forever. They like all the same things and have almost the same taste in everything like music, movies and even hobbies. 

They clicked so well since the very beginning, Hyunjin's starting to feel like he's found his platonic soulmate. For I.N, Hyunjin would probably do anything. He'd die for him. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hyunjin sits on a bench somewhere hidden away at one of the more secluded corners of the school's backyard. He kicks around the dark brown and colorful leaves on the ground that have already fallen from the trees, indicating the real start of the fall season. 

He picks one up and he can feel how fragile it is as it sits in his hand. He traces a skillful finger over its spine followed by each vein, careful to not actually fracture it in any way. 

He is just about to drop it back onto the ground when a hand stretches in front of him, picks the leaf out of his hand and crumples it in their fist to nothing more than dust. 

Hyunjin looks up to say something to the sudden leaf attacker, only to be met with I.N who instantly shoves a chocolate milk in his face as a greeting. Hyunjin takes the treat out of his hand and punctures a hole on the top of the box with his straw while I.N goes and takes a seat next to him. 

Hyunjin sips his drink quietly for a few moments, then finally looks back up to meet I.N's eyes. 

"Why did you do that?" He asks, genuinely curious. 

"What?" I.N looks confused for a second. "The leaf?" 

"Yeah. Why did you destroy it?" 

I.N is silent for a while. 

"Why shouldn't I? We step on them and destroy them every day, how is this different?" 

"But we don't do that on purpose. That's just an unfortunate consequence of life. You, on the other hand, went out of your way to hurt it." 

"Hurt it?" I.N looks at the other boy questioningly and suddenly Hyunjin has to look down to avoid meeting his gaze. A light blush tints his cheeks.

"I mean, I know it's not alive but technically it was once." 

"Yeah. It was. But now it's dead. It has already fallen. It has lost all its usefulness to this tree above us, and now it's dead. In a few months, spring will come and bring tons of new leaves for this tree who will fulfill the exact duty this leaf once did. So why does it matter if I crumple one or two, when new ones will just come anyway." I.N says this so matter of factly, Hyunjin realises he’s probably gonna lose this argument. 

"We have to respect history and every fallen leaf that comes with it,” Hyunjin cringes when he says it. He didn’t know he had such a poetic side.

"Why? There are so many of them plus they all look the same." 

"You're wrong. The veins of each leaf kind of work like fingerprints or snowflakes. They're all different and unique in their own way and there is not more than one of any."