Leaf Me Alone // minsung

「⸙ ch.25 ⸙」

JISUNG

The drink left a searing pain as I poured it down my throat. I couldn't say it was unwelcome; maybe the fiery drink could squash some of the unexplained flames in my chest.

Minho had never taken his eyes off of me, and I was all too aware of my hand resting on his shoulder. Truth be told, even I didn't know where the urge to drag him away from that girl came from. How he tilted his head to listen to what she said, how she stood abnormally close to him for just 'hanging out', how he rolled his eyes but still kept that stupid smile on his face when she finished hissing twisted secrets in his ear: all of it ignited an unfamiliar feeling in the depths of my lungs.

The consumption of alchohol would only elongate the list of rash decisions made tonight, but I wasn't really in a mood to care.

Minho was still looking at me. Maybe he wanted a drink.

Pouring another cup full of whatever cheap beverage I had been relentlessly downing, I passed it to Minho, almost overspilling as I gestured towards him, then the cup. For a moment, I thought he was going to refuse - his galaxy eyes shifted from me, to the drink, back to me. Always back to me.

I couldn't say I wasn't ever so slightly delighted with this observation.

His hand reached out to take the cup from me, fingers ever so slightly brushing as I handed it over. It was probably the alchohol that made my fingers tingle, probably the alchohol that allowed the small touch to send electric shivers to every corner of my being. It could only be the alchohol.

Watching as he placed his lips on the exact spot that I had drank from, tilting his head back, eyes falling shut as his Adam's apple bobbed in time to the disappearance of the drink I gave him, the flames burning in my chest only roared stronger in approval.

I pushed myself away from him.

Turning away from this scene - as much as it pained me to - I instead wandered away, sufficiently intoxinated to even begin thinking about dealing with the stuffy atmosphere of the party. On a mission to find Felix, I instead stumbled across a circle of half-familiar faces playing some sort of drinking game.

No time better than the present to learn the rules to a new game and get wasted in the process, right?

Some of these people I recognised from class, some I saw around campus, others I had no idea. It didn't really matter. Everyone shuffled over to make me a spot, and someone passed me a half-full cup of some other drink, equally cheap and equally tasteless. Loud complaints sounded from a corner of the circle to change the game, using my appearance to advocate for a new round. The rest of the us agreed, and we reverted to the simple yet classic game of Truth or Drink. No new game rules to be learn, but secrets to be uncovered, most of which would be forgotten by tomorrow morning.

Boisterous laughter sounded, catalysed by a few of the answers given to questions, and even more uproar was heard when someone chose to slam down their cup of alchohol instead of confronting the question asked by another person in the circle. Jeers of 'spoilsport' and 'boring' were thrown around before being rapidly dropped, silenced by the new question thrown out to another.

A blurry face that I knew I'd seen somewhere before - if you asked me where at this moment in time, I couldn't tell you - threw me a question. Pointing at me, drink in hand, a grin on her face, she called out to me. "Hey, Jisung. Do you have a crush on anyone at the moment? Who is it?"

I thought of galaxy eyes. Of half-smiles. Of incessant kicking on the back of my chair. Of lunch-times, and of dance. I thought of cheesecake in a plastic bag, dangling from a hand I knew so well. The same hand pushing me down on to the soft mattress below me. I thought of notes, and doodles in the margins.