[Hellion Brothers: Book #5] Verglas

Twenty Two

Xiumin

I closed my eyes and took a deep, long breath before entering my class for the day. Chen texted me a while ago to inform that he will be sleeping in today and missing the first hour. Scanning the room, I decided to sit in the last row so I could space out without offending the lecturer.

The scene from yesterday morning replayed in my memory for the hundredth time. The memory of Sarang standing in her living room, being held close by that guy made my fists tighten. I couldn't identify the sharp pain in my chest. Was it due to anger? Jealousy? I hated how I could feel it slowly eat away all my other thoughts. The very next second, I was hit by reality. "Oh," I thought. "That was why she wanted to reject me. She already had someone else in mind. They were all just excuses to try and reduce the hurt I would feel." I let out a deep sigh and stared at the wall, waiting to leave the classroom.

The class ended and I started packing my things when someone walked up to my desk, towering over my face. I looked up to see a girl, smiling bright in my direction. "Hi Minseok." She beamed.

I didn't remember her name, so I decided to just respond with a polite, "Hey."

"Are you free this evening? I was wondering if we could grab some coffee and-"

"I'm actually studying for the assessment this week." I interrupted, hoping she would just mumble an 'okay' and leave, but she only grinned wider in response.

"Yeah, I was wondering if we could grab some coffee and you could help me with the syllabus for this assessment. I might fail if I don't receive some help." She frowned and looked at me with eyes seeking sympathy. I immediately closed my eyes in frustration for thinking that. I used to never judge people this way before. Sarang was really rubbing off on me.

"Okay, I'll help you." I agreed and texted Lay to ask him if he could train Sarang for another day. He agreed and I went on with the rest of my classes. In the evening when I was in a coffee shop with the girl from this morning, explaining her the same concept for the third time, I received a call from Lay.

"Excuse me," I told her while she smiled and gestured me to go ahead and answer the phone.

"Hey, its already late. Sarang is still not here and her phone is switched off. What should I do?" Lay asked over the phone.

"Let her training be for today. I'll call up Mr. Kang. I'm sure he'll know where she went." I reassured Lay, but disconnected the call with a worried expression. Was she really that irresponsible to leave someone waiting like that without informing beforehand? Why were the insides of my stomach churning and all the danger signs in my head slowly rising?

"Aren't you overthinking? I'm sure Inha is okay right now." I remember telling D.O the other day when he was pacing back and forth, overly worried about Inha when we were at Chen's place, watching Disney movies at midnight.

"I don't know, its just a feeling. I don't feel very good right now. I-" He stuttered. "I can't describe it in words."

"Ah, I know that one. It is how ability wielders are supposed to be structured internally. It is your instinct trying to convey a message, don't ignore it." Chanyeol suggested. I couldn't figure it out that day and when I further enquired, he just said, "We ability wielders just know when something is out of place. When your anima is troubled, it is all shared between the two of you." He had said and I thought he was just exaggerating.

I started realizing it now. This was what they meant. This strange, negative feeling which I didn't like at all. It made me worried, afraid that something will go wrong. All I wanted was to see Sarang right away.