case 143 // seungin

chapter 20 | ʙʀᴏᴡɴɪᴇ (ʙᴏʏ) ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇ

-ᴛʜᴜʀsᴅᴀʏ-
jeongin's pov
it's been a week.

a week since the call.

i haven't broken the news to anyone yet.

can i trust felix and changbin?

why would they even care about me?

i don't want to piss them off or burden them.

i don't want to worry them.

i'm not worthy of their time and effort.

~~~

hm.

brown rafters.

green leather.

...feather blanket?

then it clicked.

i've been sleeping in felix's and changbin's dormitory since the start of winter break.

too scared to sleep alone.

too scared to face the reality of his absence.

i dragged a hand down my face as i sat up, getting ready to get out of bed-

'ow, fuck!'

one of the rings that adorned my middle finger had caught onto the skin of my face, just below my left eye, refusing to budge.

it was the one my mother gave me before i left.

of all the things, it just had to be a reminder of my mom.

letting out slow hisses of pain, i experimented with unhooking the sharp end of the ring from my face. its penetration was deeper than i'd thought, and the more i wedged it out, the more it pierced my flesh.

just then, felix burst into the living room, followed closely by changbin, the two startled into action by my shout of pain. changbin held a clothes hanger, waving it around wildly as he pushed felix behind him, taking on a defensive stance. he failed miserably, considering the way felix was quaking with silent laughter. he smacked changbin playfully across the ass, 'bin! what the heck are you doing?'

'there's someone else in our dorm! they probably snuck in in the middle of the night, cre-'

'you mean this poor dude who stupidly struck the flawless epidermis of his face with a ring?' my voice rang out shakily into the wintry, stale air of the dorm, interrupting the rest of changbin's thieving speculations.

changbin twisted around to face the convertible 2-in-1, couch-bed i was currently perched on, nearly tripping over his ankle in the process. he let out a barely audible gasp as he laid his eyes on me, while felix jumped, his feet nearly leaving the floor.

god, am i embarrassed...

'i-yen, it's you! the ring got you good, huh?' changbin hurried over, felix right at his heels. the hanger was long forgotten on the floor as both boys sat on either side of me, getting a closer look at my predicament from different angles. from my peripheral view, the sight of changbin's head hovering around me at shoulder height nearly made me crack up. at least, i would have done exactly that, if not for the pain that was slowly spreading into my eye.

'maybe slide your finger out first, or you might jab your eye in by accident. i wouldn't want one less admirer of mine, right?'

'ha. ha. very funny.' i spoke slowly and monotonously, flipping felix off as i did so.