Burnout ⊗ Jeongchan

①⑤ Need to Know

Jeongin nearly tripped over his feet.

Retrieving his uniform and phone had turned to be an easier task then he imagined. When Chan pulled up to the house, the driveway was empty. No sign of live. Upon entering he quickly discovered neither of his parents were there to catch him and berate him on his sudden leave. A sigh of relief slipped from his lips as he dressed, found his scattered bookbag, and pocketed the phone overloaded with messages and calls. No hassle. Everything seemed to be working in his favor this morning in contrast to his near mental breakdown from the night prior.

Chan halted the car a few blocks away from the school as requested. By time they had arrived at the designated drop off spot, the exhaustion wearing on him became evident. At that point it had been anything but easy to tell despite his protests that no; he was awake enough to drive home on his own without someone to keep him up. And against Jeongin's admittedly heavier protesting, the older stated he'd be late to class, gave him a sticky note, and practically kicked him out of the stationary car.

Maybe Jeongin should have been more concerned with the fact he was dumped by his ride because of school, and not with the fact Chan seemingly pulled a sticky note out of thin air to write his number on. Where did he even keep the sticky notes? And the pen?

Why did it feel like every time he solved one mystery, or had an inkling about that man, he'd only get more confused?

Even if it was over something small like a sticky note.

He shook his head clear of the riddles and rules for the time being, shoving the note somewhere in his bookbag as he refocued on the task at hand. Refocused on the building his feet carried him closer to with every minute; the school, that was what was important right now. No point in dwelling over it when he had other responsibilities to attend to. Or, it was more accurate he attempted to ignore it. It was slightly difficult when he could still feel the remnants of the note adhesive clinging to the palm of his hand. The last part of his sanity was quick to reign him in before he could get hung up over something so insignificant.

"Jeongin!"

A voice called out to him. Jeongin must have been caught up in his thoughts longer then he expected. The school gates were already within eyesight, only a few more steps and he would be there to start the day. He glanced over to the source of the voice, being met by two familiar faces nearly sprinting towards him from the adjacent sidewalk.

Felix was the first one to reach him, joined immediately by Seungmin, both of them reaching out to stop the younger in his tracks for proper questioning, "Jeongin, where were you?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Your Mom called our parents, she said you ran off last night and they couldn't find you," Felix told simply, forcing a frustrated scowl that turned out more concerned than any other emotion he was supposedly experiencing.

Of course she did.

Why would he expect any less from that warden. Then again, it was his fault for running like that when he could have just shouldered the weight they laid on him. It isn't like he had the right to complain. He had a family. A home. A reputation. A future.

It isn't as bad as he made it sound.

It's not that bad.

It's not.

It's not-

Shut up. He masked it with his classic dimpled grin, "I needed to clear my head. I apologize if I worried you,"

They shared a concerned look. A bit of him wondered if they could read what he was thinking, but if they could neither made it obvious beyond the shared glances. Seungmin spoke up, asking seriously, "And you weren't hurt?"