from august to december

chapter five

3pm, mid august.

it was incredibly hot, shino was sweating ridiculously when he just walked out of the door, taking big steps towards the meeting spot.

and even though he was just wearing a blank, white shirt and some jean shorts, he could feel the thick air creeping underneath his skin and boiling him alive.

he pulled the white cap further down into his face to at least protect his face from the rays of the sun.

park shino was a person who walked very quickly, who preferred to do things quickly and in an innovative way, however when he was faced with the challenge of finding his old friend again and scheduling a meet up with him, he lost all of his calmness he usually treasured to well.

his breathing was shaky and irregular, and even though the weather made him sweat already, the nervousness made that sweat be cold and sticky.

the man felt weak on his knees and if he didn't focus he could easily lose his balance.

it has been four years now.

while walking through the busy streets of the city and seeing the beautiful and colorful buldings, he thought again, about eden and his critical mental state, when he suddenly received a phone call.

at first he didn't realize it was his phone, but when he did, he quickly fished around in his pocket.

"hello? matio?" he answered and raised an eyebrow out of confusion why his assistant would call him on a free day.

"park? i need to tell you something," matio stated and shino could hear worry in his deep and stable voice.

"we need to meet up, are you free right now?" he spoke further, not really asking but rather ordering his boss.

"uhh.." the man answered and stopped walking abruptly, a few people behind him hissed and brushed against him, but he didn't even notice.

his mind was only focused on matio's voice, he could tell something serious was going on.

but he was also not free right now, now he had to make a decision what was more important to him.

what if something had happened to his family members? what if the company had a scandal? what if-

"hello? it's about eden."

"it's about eden."

the familiar words rang in his head, he had heard these exact words so many times before.

of course, eden was important to him, he loved eden deeply, but right now, another of the group needed him more.

"listen, matio i can't right now but i can stop by later at the company, just tell me then," he explained and chewed on the inside of his cheek nervously, while slowly starting to move forward again to where he was going to meet the person.

"whatever you say," the assistant murmured and hung up the phone, clearly he was pissed.

and shino couldn't help but worry about his younger friend while looking at the black screen of his phone and losing himself in his thoughts once again.

the voices in his head were so loud and obnoxious, they drowned out the sounds on the streets where he was walking on, and he would've walked and walked without noticing if he hadn't bumped into someone.

"woah! i'm so sorry!" the blond immediately apologized without looking at the stranger and wanting to continue his way, but suddenly, when looking at the hands of the person he had walked into, they seemed familiar.