Night Sky Bloom

15- Jasmine

"Maybe. And you're a bratty fucking omega. You're stubborn, and you want to fight. But I'm not going to keep doing this with you. This is my house. Get out."

Minho's eyes widened in shock at Jisung's firm words. He opened his mouth as if to retort, but no words came out. After a tense moment, he glanced at the fridge, turned on his heel and stormed out of the house, slamming the door loudly, making Hyunjin and Felix wince at the sound.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the three remaining in the kitchen and dining room. Felix wordlessly let go of Jisung, walking out back towards the greenhouse. Jisung understood that he was probably too overwhelmed by the volatile scents and emotions crashing through the air. He just hoped that Felix didn't blame himself.

"I'm gonna go check on him." Hyunjin said. Once he had left, only Seungmin remained, hovering uncertainly near the doorway.

"You don't have to stay," Jisung told him gently while attempting to give him a comforting look.

Seungmin nodded, gathering his things. "Text me if you need anything," he said, agitation dripping from his tone before slipping out the door. He was upset, and Jisung could understand that. They all needed some time to cool down and think about everything that had happened, as much as it sucked.

He collapsed in the dining room chair, thinking to himself. He handled it as best he could. Maybe the comment about Minho being a bratty omega was a bit much, especially since he was trying not to make things worse, but the comment about him being a weak alpha had irked him more than it probably should have. Besides, Minho needed a fight to find the closure to leave the house, so it seemed like an optimal way to meet that requirement.

He didn't know when he had made the change from genuinely hating Minho to trying to understand him at a deeper level. The more he thought to himself, the more his heart clenched at the memory of Minho's trembling lips, his shaky tone, his fidgeting hands. He was starting to realize that the omega had a tendency to lash out when hurt or insecure, or when he wanted to get ahead of an argument that he expected, but Jisung hated being the target of said lashing out.

And the longer he tried to dissect Minho's behavior, the more he remembered about Minho's puffy cheeks and red eyes from when he was younger. He was probably so used to fighting- defending himself from people he should have been able to trust- that it was second nature to be on guard with walls up at all times.

It made his chest hurt.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the realization that Felix was still outside, most likely in the greenhouse. He immediately set to go check on him, only to find him with soft tears streaming down his freckled cheeks, fingers roaming over a single pot holding an ivory white gladiolus flower. Jisung walked over quietly, bending at his knees to hover over the ground next to Felix.

"You okay, Lix?" He asked soothingly.

"It's my fault." Felix's voice was small, almost broken.

"It's not y-"

"It is. I was trying to show Seungmin how he gets around you. Because you don't notice and you don't listen." He sniffled and took a deep breath, shaking his head. "I should have expected that kind of reaction and I just didn't."

Jisung didn't quite want to address the "You don't listen" bit, so he did his best to just focus on making Felix feel better. He shook his head firmly, putting a gentle hand on Felix's shoulder. "No, Lix. You can't control how people react. None of this is your fault. I don't... I don't even really think it's Minho's fault. I think it was just an unfortunate situation altogether."

Felix wiped at his eyes, looking uncertain. "But if I hadn't said anything-"

"Then Minho still would have found some other reason to lash out. He was clearly just looking for a fight." Jisung said. He hesitated, then added softly, "I think he might be hurting more than he lets on. It didn't seem... He didn't seem to enjoy the fight. I don't really understand it. I can only assume why he's acting the way he does. But... he would have found another reason to argue."