✔️photograph • Kim Seungmin✔️

29 🌸

I turned around, facing Hyunjin. "Sorry, did you say anything?" He smiled at me and shook his head. "It's nothing, let's eat." I nodded happily, still jamming along to the song. My thoughts instantly went back to last night, Seungmin's face somehow appearing in my head as well. "Hyunjin, I'm really worried about everyone at home" I said sadly. Hyunjin flashed a weak smile. "I know... Me too."

"He can't possibly have spent the night there right?" I suddenly asked. "I don't think he'll come back so soon either, especially since you called the police already, so we should be able to get back right?" Hyunjin nodded, but still looked somewhat doubtful. "I'm just wondering, if Elle and Seungmin already made up, and if she already apologized, what on earth was her brother doing here?"

My eyes shot open wider in realization. "You're right!" Hyunjin immediately got angry. "I knew it, there's no way she could actually become nice!" Suddenly a sad, fearful feeling washed over me. "What if she actually fell for Seungmin and is now just trying to get rid of me?" The image of Elle and Seungmin hugging popped up in my head, along with other pictures of them being together. The corners of my mouth dropped as my hunger instantly disappeared. "I don't want to lose him again" I added quietly.

Hyunjin just stared at me, pity visible in his eyes. "Did he say anything to you after I went upstairs yesterday?" I nodded. "He told me that Elle was really important to him as well..." Tears started forming in my eyes again, even though I was fighting so hard to keep them in. Hyunjin looked quite shocked at first, but somehow determined.

He put his plate down and walked up to me, leaning down to reach my eye level as he softly pressed his lips against mine. He moved away again, desperately looking into my shocked eyes. "I'm sorry" he said before walking out, slamming the door behind him. I watched him leave through the window, ruffling his hair in frustration as I let out a sigh, looking at his back which was slowly becoming smaller. "Why does everyone have to play with my heart?"

It felt like he had been gone for hours now. I found a few books next to the couch so decided to read those to kill some of the time. "Why can't she see he's an asshole!" I yelled out in frustration after irritatedly flipping the page, clearly wanting to know more, engrossed in the story, not even noticing the door had quietly opened. "Oh come on, this isn't right!" I said again, but a light chuckle startled me, making my head shift to see where the laugh came from.

"Felix?" I asked seriously confused. "What are you doing here? How did you even know this place?" Felix sat down next to me, taking the book out of my hands to see what I was reading. "Hyunjin told me you'd be here... Everyone was worried sick you know?" I looked down. "Sorry" I mumbled under my breath. Felix looked at me with a sympathetic smile as he ruffled my hair. "Don't worry, no one's blaming you or anything."

I looked back at him, a small smile appearing on my face again. "Thank Felix." He smiled back, now with a genuine smile. "No problem. Come, let's go home!" He stood up and walked up to the door, but stopped and turned around and walked back. "sorry, I forgot" he said a bit awkwardly as he laughed. He wanted to lift me up but I quickly stopped him. "Wait Felix, I was wondering if I could try to see if my legs were already slightly working again!" Felix looked at me slightly worried, but quickly gave in. "Fine, but only up to the door, no further!"

Felix held out his hands to help me up. My legs were wobbly, but I didn't instantly fall back, giving me the courage to put a few steps. "Just keep holding my hands okay?" he said as he carefully walked backwards, making sure to keep his eyes on me. I put a few steps forward, but soon my legs started weakening, making me fall into Felix's arms. He instantly caught me and smiled proudly. "I'm really glad to see you're already getting some feeling back! It really is healing fast! Does it hurt a lot?" I shook my head happily. "It actually doesn't hurt as much as I thought!"

Felix lifted me up and put me in the car. "I didn't know you had a driver's license" I said surprised, but suddenly got really nervous when all Felix did was laugh awkwardly. "Let's just... Pretend you didn't say that" he said before driving away terribly fast. "OWHMYGOSH FELIX SLOW DOWN!" I yelled, scared for my life, but Felix did everything but slow down.

Miraculously, we made it back to the house in one piece with no police cars chasing us. "Felix?" I asked, still experiencing the after-shock. "Yeah?" he asked somewhat confused. "Remind me to never get in a car with you ever again?" We both started laughing and when it finally died down a little, all we had to do was just look at each other and we were already dying from laughter again.

Suddenly, my cardoor opened as a pair of arms instantly threw themselves around me. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Seungmin asked with a shaky voice. "I thought he found you and hurt you!" I felt a single teardrop fall on my shoulder as I hugged him back, still hurt but completely ignoring the feeling, as it was overwritten by the warm feeling of his body heat.

"I'm okay, nothing happened" I whispered to calm him down a little. "Let's go inside first okay?" Felix asked softly at Seungmin who had now been holding for minutes. He slowly and hesitantly let go as he lifted me out as well. His eyes were duller than usual, his body seeming weaker. "Seungmin, are you okay?" I whispered but no answer.
Once inside, the tears immediately flowed down when I saw Chan, all beaten up, covered in bruises and bloodstains. He looked up at me with a weak smile as the tears started streaming down his face as well.

With all the strength I had in my legs I walked up to him, slowly, unsteady, but determined. As soon as I reached him I let myself fall into his arms, the both of us crying out. "I'm so sorry" I cried out, over and over again. He held me tighter, allowing his actions to speak for him since he himself couldn't talk anymore as his throat was barely functioning because of the crying. The boys slowly gathered around us as we were soon engulfed in a group hug. No one had to say a word to know how everyone felt. We just knew, only there was one thing that was missing, that made this incomplete.

Hyunjin.