nightfall || minsung

Chapter 6

You look fine, Jisung.

I craned around to look at Changbin in the backseat. "What?"

You're feeling insecure about your small mouth and long neck, but I'm telling you, you have nothing to worry about.

"Thanks?"

"You're gonna do fine with Minho, too," Felix added. "Not saying it won't be bumpy, but you'll both come out in one piece. I won't spoil it any more for you."

"I don't care about that. I'm just nervous."

"Why are you nervous?" Seungmin asked. It was sarcastic, but I answered anyway.

"Because I haven't spoken to him in, like, a month, and now I'm flushing all that down the toilet, and I have no control over how badly I could screw it up." I shrugged. "I'm fine."

You don't look fine, Jeongin thought.

"Yeah, well, I am."

"Focus on breathing," Felix said. "Lateral breathing. Keep your tum engaged, bro."

"I don't know what that means."

"You should have joined us for pilates this morning," Hyunjin said. "It would have calmed... all this down."

"How could I be calm right now? I'm a cold-hearted soulless demon for talking to him when I should just keep minding my own goddamn business." I slumped in my seat, the very image of a sad sack. "But I... miss him. He's so cool and weird. I wanna know him."

"You can. You should." Felix clicked his tongue. "You can know him forever and ever and ever..."

"Felix, I'm not accepting your dumbass futures, this is me refusing them."

So you'll 'accept' that I saw you were gonna accompany him to Seattle, but you'll shrug off the Big Two? You're convincing yourself that this train ain't heading where it's goddamn full-speed chugging toward. Wrap your noggin around extrasensory perception, will ya? It's like talking to a potted plant, I swear to God.

"I can do it, I can—" I closed my mouth.

Were you about to say you can change the future?

"Maybe. You have to admit that I've stirred it up a bit."

Felix flicked a tuft of hair out of his face and put his hands back on the wheel. You've tied up some of my wires, I'll admit. Things are shifting, but that won't necessarily affect the long run. Do you understand me?

"Uh-huh."

You didn't get a word of that.

"Uh-huh."

He pulled into the school lot and parked near the sidewalk. My brothers got out of the car. I was still slouched in the passenger seat, tongue between my teeth.

Felix leaned down to my window and counted off his fingers. Bring Seungmin's umbrella for Minho — he'll like that. I put it under the seat. He's gonna drop his keys and you're gonna catch them, yeah? Seattle is a good excuse, but don't put too much mustard on it, it might get suspicious.

I crossed my arms. "Thanks."

He knocked on the window and gestured to smile. I showed him my teeth.

The five of them disappeared around the corner.

I waited, listening tentatively, fidgeting, until Minho pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine. He climbed out, trembling and soaked already.