𝑆𝑇𝐴𝑅𝑆 • 𝑀𝐼𝑁𝑆𝑈𝑁𝐺

𝑆𝑇𝐴𝑅𝑆 4 ☆

☆ Song Recommendation:
"Stressed Out" by Twenty One Pilots

Jisung was awakened by the sound of a fist tapping on the door.

"Ugh, how annoying..." he whispered.

Ignoring that he was only wearing sweatpants, Jisung got out of bed and opened the door. There stood Heejin, the maid's daughter, who helped her mother during school days due to the heavy workload.

The brown-haired girl blushed at the sight of Jisung's toned torso and immediately lowered her head, bowing.

"Good morning, Mr. Han. Breakfast is ready, your parents are waiting for you."

Heejin grabbed the portable hanger with Jisung's uniform and brought it into the room.

"Your uniform is ironed and clean, sir. Have a good day..."

As Heejin turned to leave, Jisung grabbed her wrist. Though surprised, she spoke:

"Did I forget something?" she asked.

"Heejin, I've told you before, you don't need to call me sir. We've known each other since we were kids, just call me Jisung."

"Oh, okay..." she nodded, still looking at the ground.

"And thanks for the clothes, tell my parents I'll be down in fifteen minutes. If they're hungry, they can start eating."

Heejin nodded again and before leaving, she bowed.

Jisung grabbed clean underwear and towels and entered his spacious bathroom for a shower; then he came out, did his daily face routine, styled his hair, and dressed meticulously. He grabbed his briefcase, put his computer, a notebook, and his pencil case inside, closed it, and left his room.

He went down the long stairs and headed to the dining room after greeting the approximately twelve maids he encountered along the way.

"Father, mother," greeted Jisung to his parents, hugging each of them.

"How did you sleep, dear?" Mrs Han asked her son. "I asked our cook to make you coffee and cheesecake. Cold coffee, of course."

"Thank you, Mom," Jisung said, sitting down to eat.

"Jisung, I see you're doing well at the new university," Mr Han began. "Is there anyone significant that I might know?"

"Well," said Jisung while eating the cheesecake, "Lee Minho is in my class..."

"Lee Minho?" his father asked, surprised.

"Of course, father. It's his father's company university, what did you expect?"

"Uh, it seems he hasn't ended up dancing as I thought he would. Also, I'm surprised that he's in your class, from what I've heard he's a year older than you. And what about his brother? Is he as stubborn as Minho?"

"Nah, they're complete opposites. Felix is... too innocent, too pure. He's like an angel fallen from heaven."

"You speak too highly of someone who is the rival's son," his father said with a very serious expression on his face.

"Because Mr Lee is not my rival, he's yours. And just because Felix is his son doesn't mean I have to make him my enemy. I'm not like you, father, I value the person behind all that business more than the business itself."

Jisung got up from the table without saying anything else. He grabbed his things and left, completely ignoring the fact that his father was calling him to come back.

Upon reaching the outside of his house, his motorcycle was already parked there. Jisung got on it, put on his helmet, and started it up, driving towards his university.

He hated that his father was so materialistic. What did it matter if Felix, the son of that horrible man, wasn't like his father? But Minho was, or at least that's what Jisung thought.

After twenty minutes of riding through the long streets of the district, Jisung parked his motorcycle in its assigned spot, where Hyunjin was already waiting for him, along with someone he would have to get used to seeing every morning from now on.

"Hyunjin..." he said to the boy who already had his arms open, waiting for a hug that never came. "Felix, what are you doing here? And Minho?"

"Oh, um... I saw Hyunjin when I arrived and asked him about you. He said you'd be here in a while, so I decided to wait for you. I hope you don't mind..."

"Nah, why would I mind?"

Felix smiled widely, and the three of them started walking together.

"Why hasn't your brother told you anything? He's like... a chihuahua waiting under the table for someone to pass by so he can bite them," said Hyunjin, making a face, and Felix laughed.

"He hasn't told me anything, he doesn't care anymore about what I do or don't do. As long as I don't get into trouble..."

Jisung knew very well that wasn't true, that Felix probably made up some excuse like "I need to ask him for some notes" or "I'm going to ask him about today's assignment."

"What class do you have now, Jisung?" Felix asked.

"Principles of Economics..."

"Uh... Minho told me that subject is super boring."

"A bit, this major is boring no matter how you look at it."

"Then why did you choose it?"

The three had already reached the lockers, and Jisung was picking up the books he needed for class.

"For the same reason your brother did, out of obligation."

"Right... for example, Chan has always liked producing music, so he's majoring in music to specialize in music production," explained Felix. "And what do you like to do, Hyunjin?"

"I like to dance, it's always been my passion, and I practice day and night at the company, but I don't think I can make a career out of it..."

"Can I ask why...?"

"Felix."

Felix looked at the ground before turning around to look at his brother, who was leaning against the lockers.

"Having a good time? I thought you were studying, but it seems you prefer spending time with these two."

"I... um... Minho..."

"These two have names, in case you don't remember, Jisung and Hyunjin, and of course he prefers to be with us rather than you, at least he's not bored like a monkey listening to you talking about obligations here and there, or just sitting there in silence," Jisung replied. "Felix isn't your puppet or your employee, Felix is your brother. And yes, you can give him advice, but not decide everything he can or can't do. I don't see what's wrong with meeting new people, talking to me or Hyunjin, simply getting away from your suffocating environment for a while. And I say this with all sincerity, I know you don't like that world either. I just think you're jealous that your brother is actually enjoying his youth when since you were a child you've been tormented with all those responsibilities."

Minho was stunned, he had nothing to say. He knew that damn squirrel was right, but he would never admit it. Jisung closed his locker, and Hyunjin went with Felix since the youngest was crying. Jisung stood in front of Minho and looked him straight in the eyes. In that moment, although he was full of anger, he took a better look at the guy's features, his eyes were slanted and expressive, with arched eyebrows that emphasized his gaze. He has a small, straight nose, well-defined lips, and jaw.

"I think you should sit down for a while and think about your feelings and thoughts before treating Felix or anyone else like that again. Focus, Minho. See you in class..."

Jisung walked away down the hallway, leaving Minho in a state of deep reflection. Silence echoed in the corridor as Minho processed Jisung's words. He looked towards the end of the hallway where Jisung had disappeared, feeling a lump in his throat from the raw honesty of his words. With a heavy sigh, Minho reminded himself that he had to do something about it. He adjusted his backpack and headed towards the classroom with a determination that barely concealed his internal doubts and concerns.