Hey, deskmate ; minsung 𖦹

14

Minho.

I sat back down on the bench, staring at the swing where Jisung had been just moments ago. The breeze had picked up, rustling the trees around me, but it did nothing to clear my thoughts.

What the hell was going on with him?

Jisung never missed school. He was one of those annoyingly perfect students, always on time, never late on assignments, always in his stupid seat in the front row. So the fact that he'd been gone for days, only to show up at the park of all places, looking like the world had knocked him down a few pegs—it wasn't sitting right with me.

Something was wrong.

I scuffed my shoe against the gravel, frustrated. It wasn't like I cared or anything, but people like Jisung didn't just disappear unless something serious was happening. I hated the guy—everyone knew that—but he wasn't someone who would skip school for no reason.

Was it family? He always seemed close with his family, especially his grandmother. I'd overheard him mention her a few times in class, and though I didn't really pay attention to his personal life, it stuck with me for some reason. Was that it? Maybe something had happened, and he didn't know how to deal with it.

It's not like I'd ask him.

He barely said anything today, just acted... different. He wasn't his usual smug, annoying self. And that pissed me off more than anything. I didn't like the change. It threw me off.

I'd gone to the park to clear my head after the disaster that was today's classes, but instead I ran into him and now I couldn't stop thinking about what the hell he was going through. Why did he even show up here? Out of all the places, why this park?

I shook my head, trying to snap myself out of it. I didn't need to be wasting my time thinking about Jisung or whatever drama was going on in his life. He wasn't my problem. But the look in his eyes today—the exhaustion, the weight he was carrying—it stuck with me.

I hated that it did.

I clenched my jaw, annoyed at myself more than anything. It wasn't my job to worry about what was going on with him. We weren't friends, and it wasn't like I was about to go play therapist to someone I could barely stand. Still, something gnawed at me. It wasn't just curiosity anymore—it was the way he looked so damn lost.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, and stared at the ground. I'd always told myself I didn't give a crap about anyone, especially someone like Jisung, but seeing him like that today...

There was something more going on. Something heavy enough to take him out of school, to make him sit in the park looking like he didn't even know what he was doing there.

My stomach twisted in a way that felt unfamiliar. I hated it. I didn't want to be concerned, didn't want to feel anything other than annoyance toward him. But now, all I could think about was what could've happened to make him act so different.

Whatever it was, I was sure it was bad.

I stayed seated on the bench, my fingers tapping restlessly against my knee as the evening shadows stretched longer across the park. I couldn't shake it—the image of Jisung sitting there, quiet, with that far-off look in his eyes. It was weird seeing him like that, like all the confidence and arrogance had been sucked out of him. It wasn't normal, and it kept messing with my head.

My gaze flickered back to the swing where he'd been. The chains still swayed a little, as if he'd just been there a second ago. I let out a frustrated sigh, leaning back against the bench, my mind going in circles. What could have been so serious that it kept him out of school for days? I wasn't used to seeing him look like that. *Distant*. Hell, I wasn't used to seeing him look anything other than smug or focused, like he had his entire life mapped out.

But today? Today was different.

I'd heard whispers in the hallways over the past few days, people asking where Jisung was, why he hadn't shown up to class. It wasn't like I was eavesdropping or anything. I just overheard. People were talking. His absence didn't go unnoticed. That wasn't surprising—someone like Jisung, with his perfect grades and teacher's pet reputation, was bound to stand out when he wasn't around.

But no one knew the reason.

And it bugged me.

I kicked a pebble off the path, watching it bounce and roll into the grass. Why the hell did I care? I shouldn't. I didn't care about Jisung or whatever was going on in his life. We weren't friends. We were barely even civil most days. I'd made sure of that.

But something about today... something about the way he looked when he glanced at me from that swing made me stop and think. He wasn't himself. That much was clear. And whatever was going on, it was big. Big enough to pull him out of school. Big enough to make him act like he didn't even care that I was sitting right there, watching him.

I leaned forward again, rubbing a hand over my face. This was ridiculous. I shouldn't be sitting here, stewing over it. I should be home, doing something productive or at least distracting myself with something that didn't involve him. But here I was, still stuck in my head about Jisung and whatever the hell was going on with him.

It's probably his grandma...

He'd mentioned her once or twice in class, just little things, like how she was the one who raised him or how he visited her every weekend. There was something about the way he spoke about her—serious, protective—that made me think she was a big deal to him.

And if something had happened to her...

That would explain it.

I gritted my teeth, trying to push the thought away, but it kept creeping back in. The idea of something happening to her, something bad enough to knock Jisung off his game, made a weird knot form in my chest. I hated it. I didn't want to think about him or his personal life, but I couldn't help it. Not after seeing him like that.

"Damn it," I muttered under my breath, slouching down on the bench, glaring at nothing in particular. I hated how much space he was taking up in my head right now.

But I couldn't stop wondering.

I glanced at the park entrance again, half-expecting to see him walking back, but the path was empty. The sky was starting to dim, the last of the sunlight fading as the evening settled in, and still, I stayed put. Maybe I was waiting for something, though I wasn't sure what.

There was a part of me—one I wasn't willing to admit to—that wanted to know. Wanted to understand why someone as annoyingly perfect as Jisung would disappear from school and show up in a park looking so... broken. The part of me that was curious, even if I didn't want to be.

But another part of me, the one that always saw him as competition, as the guy I needed to keep at arm's length, didn't want to get involved. It didn't matter what was going on with him. It wasn't my business.

I clenched my fists, shaking my head. Whatever was going on with him, he'd have to deal with it on his own. It wasn't like he'd ever let me in on his life, anyway. I wasn't about to start caring now.

With a final glance at the swing, I pushed myself off the bench and started walking. The evening was quiet, the air cool, and for now, I could pretend none of this mattered.

Even if it did.