Second Chance [SEOKSOO]

08: Breaking Point

Seokmin didn't even glance at Joshua as he walked away, his figure slowly swallowed by the crowd of students. Joshua stood rooted to the spot, the chaos of the school day swirling around him, but he felt utterly disconnected. The weight of Seokmin's rejection crashed over him, and yet, he couldn't move.

His hands curled into fists at his sides, his heart pounding, the sickening mix of emotions impossible to contain. What did I do wrong? He had tried. He had tried to fix everything, to make it right, but Seokmin... Seokmin wasn’t even willing to listen.

"What's going on with you?" The voice cut through his spiralling thoughts, sharp and intrusive. Joshua didn’t realize Jeonghan had snuck up on him until the latter was standing too close, the annoyance practically radiating off him.

Joshua didn’t immediately answer, his eyes fixed on Seokmin’s retreating form, his stomach a churning pit. His fingers itched to reach out, to stop him, but he knew it would do no good. Seokmin had made his choice—he was gone.

Jeonghan, however, wasn’t going to let him retreat into himself. "Did something happen last night?" he asked, a knowing smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

Joshua clenched his jaw, his hands now tight around the edges of his locker. His frustration flared to life, sharp and biting. He hadn’t wanted to talk about it. He didn’t want to admit how much it stung, but he couldn’t suppress it anymore.

"I fucked him," he spat, his voice low, seething with an emotion he couldn’t fully grasp, before he yanked his locker open with more force than necessary. He needed distance. Space. From everyone, especially from himself.

Jeonghan blinked, surprise flickering across his face. "Woah! Seriously? Damn, you're fast." The comment hung in the air, the amusement evident in Jeonghan's voice, but it only deepened the crackling tension Joshua felt.

Joshua’s fingers dug into the metal of his locker, a desperate attempt to steady himself, to push away the growing storm inside. He wanted to escape the storm, wanted to disappear.

"I don’t need your commentary," Joshua muttered through clenched teeth, his voice trembling just a little more than he cared to admit. He slammed the locker shut, but even that didn’t relieve the pressure building inside him.

Jeonghan, unfazed by Joshua’s sharp tone, followed him closely, his eyes glinting with curiosity. "So, you two…" His words trailed off, the implication clear. He didn’t need to finish the sentence. The tension was so thick between them that it was almost palpable.

Joshua exhaled, sharp and clipped, not trusting himself to respond. He wasn’t sure he could put into words what he was feeling. He wasn’t even sure he understood it himself. All he knew was that something in him was breaking, and no matter how much he tried to control it, it kept slipping through his fingers.

Jeonghan leaned against the locker beside Joshua, a smirk still dancing across his face. “Still pissed, huh?” he teased, watching him with an unsettling intensity. His voice was light, but the way his eyes narrowed told Joshua that Jeonghan wasn’t as clueless as he pretended to be.

Joshua didn’t want to admit it, didn’t want to show Jeonghan how close to breaking he really was, but the words came out before he could stop them. “I’m fine,” he muttered, his voice barely audible, as if convincing himself more than anyone else. His fists were tight at his sides, trembling with the effort of holding back everything he wanted to say.

But Jeonghan was persistent, a slight edge to his voice as he pushed again. "He’s not even giving you a second chance," he said casually, though there was a gleam in his eyes that told Joshua he knew this was deeper than just a misunderstanding.