Burnout ⊗ Jeongchan

⑥ Example

Jeongin would never admit it to Jisung, or anyone for that matter, but he felt a slight sorrow when the lights of the Hub started to fade and everyone went home for the night.

He never had the chance to talk more with Chan. The older had gone off with his car shortly after he let Jeongin borrow his coat, the rest of the crew also being in and out of the circle all night long. Jisung was the only one who was there consistently, staying by Jeongin's side to help him grow more accustomed to the place in the small amount of time they had there. And at the end of the night when everyone else started to clear out, the crew came back together in their unorganized circle. They quickly decided who was driving who and left for the night.

By time they left the interior of the Hub it was early morning, the sun had been barely peaking above the horizon when they prepared to leave.

Jeongin was either lucky or unlucky when Jisung convinced Minho to drive him home, saying it was his responsibility to make sure the younger get to his house safely and effectively. He sat in the passenger seat up front with Jisung behind him in the backseats. Letting his head drop and rest against the window, Jeongin let the nervousness he felt wear off of and bring him down to reality, a drowsiness weighting heavy on his eyelids till he couldn't keep them open longer.

And when he woke up in the morning he was laying under the warm covers of his bed, still wearing the clothes from the night before. Still wearing Chan's jacket.

With a groan he flipped onto his side and snuggled further into the bedsheets, ignoring the alarm clock sitting on nightstand flashing at him. Outside of his room he could hear his family move about, making breakfast and getting ready to seize the day. He cracked his eyes open a sliver, scowling at the bright numbers as he read the time. The time had ticked by four hours.

After a while of staring up at the boring ceiling and contemplating if he should get up to face the day, Jeongin threw his legs over the edge of his bed and sat up. There was a heaviness in his head that made him feel groggy as he waddled from his bed to his closet to his dresser, collecting a more comfortable change of clothes. As he moved around, his muscles felt stiff and sore, slowing him down even more then the headache. The sluggishness in his body definitely was not pleasant but that was the result of being awake when the sun nearly rises.

Jeongin did his best to avoid interaction with his family as he ran back and forth from the bathroom down the hall to his bedroom. A cold shower and a quick change into lazy clothes was all he needed to wake up, the fogginess in his head wearing off as soon as he chilly water sprinkled onto his skin. He scampered back to his room with his dirty clothes and tossed them into an empty basket, making mental note to wash the clothes and return them to Jisung without his parents finding out. However, the biggest problem was the coat laying flat on his bed.

It obviously wasn't his. Not only was it something that Jeongin would never wear on a normal day as it was made of a heavy leather, but it had a weird smell to it too. It wasn't unpleasant in any way. Jeongin would have worn it more, if he wouldn't get caught, because of the sweet scent it had alone. It reminded him of vanilla cookies and possibly freshly burned gasoline but he didn't spend long enough sniffing the poor man's jacket to identify what the aroma was comprised of. Instead he spent his time staring at the black leather and fiddling with the pocket buttons.

He snatched up his phone from the pocket of the coat and turned it on. He flinched upon seeing his unread messages from his group chat with Seungmin and Felix, asking if he was okay after he didn't respond all night or if they needed to come over to his house this weekend. Jeongin made a mental note to reply to them then clicked on a certain person's contact to shoot him a text.

Jeonginnie
This is Jeongin. Can you return Chan's coat to him when you see him? I can give it to you on Monday.

He didn't wait long before he had a response.

Jisung
Do it yourself impudent child ✌️

He had to suppress a sigh.

Jeonginnie
I'm not going back
Please return it to him:(
I feel bad:(((

Jisung
Yeah fine I'll do it
But if you change your mind between now and Monday, do it yourself impudent child ✌️

Jeonginnie
Thank you!

A small smile curled his lips as he tossed his phone away and looked back at the coat. He quickly folded it up then hid it in the bottom of his dresser, tucked underneath all the old clothes he bought but hadn't touched in years.

Feeling satisfied with his job, he grabbed his phone and bounced out of his room. He bounded down the stairs into the living room of his house, seeing his father sitting on the couch scrolling through the TV channels and his mother in one of the armchairs with her laptop. They quickly caught notice of him, saying a brief "Good Morning" to him as he found a place next to his father. Jeongin grinned at them, a bit of sleep left in his body, "Good morning."

His father stood up, calling back as he started to trudge up the stairs "I'm going now. Jeongin, there's breakfast in the kitchen. "

"Okay, thank you," He yawned and flopped onto the side of the couch, curling his limbs into a little ball. His next mission: he turned his phone back on and checked the flood of text messages from his two partners in crime. A grin poked at his lips as he read the weird status updates and memes that were sent into the group chat, giggling at an argument they had over whether or not to buy a wall decal of an old couple in a golf cart. The more recent messages consisted of asking where Jeongin was and if they could come over today. He shot a quick "Sure." over, tossing his phone on the coffee table when he was completely done with it.

"Jeongin, who were you texting?" His mother questioned as she glanced up from her laptop. Her eyebrows were knitted together and she had an unpleasant look on her face, like there had been a disturbance in the flow of her thought chain, "You're giggling."

"Felix and Seungmin," He snorted, a smile gracing his features.

"It's been a while since I've seen those two. How have they been as of lately?"

"Just fine. They're both focused on school."

"Take a lesson from them and focus on your studies too. There will only be so much that you can do, Jeongin."

"Yes, Mom," Jeongin's smile faltered. There was a pang deep in his chest, as minor as it was he could feel it burn. The memories from last night and the school work he neglected came flooding pack. As soon as his mother's gaze was off of him, he let his posture drop and his shoulders curl in on themselves.

"Your brother should be an example to you."

Jeongin tightened his grip around his knees.

"He's always been top of his class, I want you to be like him. You'll be worthless in this world otherwise."

"Yes."

His mom glanced up from her computer, sighing, "I only want the best for you. It's a tough world, understand?"

Jeongin frowned, "I understand."

"Get your homework done before you stress over it," She refocused to her laptop, dismissing him with a slight nod as her fingernails clicked against the plastic keys, "And review the applications for student council. They trust you, don't let them down."

"Yes ma'am."

✘