How 21 Students Saved the World

27 - Shut Up!! (Not the Ukiss Song, Mark!)

"TAEYONG!" Jihoon shouted after him, running outside to chase the high school student. "Taeyong, stop running!"

Taeyong stopped running, standing in the middle of the parking lot, watching Jihoon run up to him. "What do you want?" he asked quite harshly. "Just leave me alone-"

"Look, Taeyong, just- ah shit, I hate being short," Jihoon mumbled under his breath, thinking for the thousandth time of his life how much he hated himself. If only the orphanage milk wasn't nasty, maybe he would have grown a few more inches like Soonyoung who was always in the middle of some type of growth spurt. "Taeyong, can you stop running for a second and hear me out?"

Taeyong hastily wiped off the sweat and tears off his face. "Why? You don't even know me."

"Maybe not, but... you know, I guess this is the part in movies where the adult says some bullshit wisdom," Jihoon said. "But just because I'm 26 doesn't mean I know anything, I don't even know what I had for breakfast this morning- actually, I think I ate a block of colby- anyways!" He stared at Taeyong, making eye contact with his puffy eyes. "Look, I'm going to assume you felt overwhelmed back there."

Taeyong nodded. "I just don't know why they are all wanting me to lead when, I mean, I don't even know if anything will work, how do I know someone won't get hurt, it's just so hard, and I can barely lead the club and then there's aliens to top it off, and I just want to go home and eat ice cream and forget about today."

Jihoon nodded, he could totally use a bowl of ice cream right now. "Yeah, this whole day sounds like some bad fan fiction story, if I'm honest."

The two stood in silence for a minute, both momentarily forgetting that there were aliens around the premises trying to kill everybody for some reason, but they were too busy in their own thoughts to think about it.

"Look, like I said, I'm not really good with wisdom," Jihoon said. "And I also don't take advice well, despite my therapist giving me random shit to follow through every week so you might not pay attention to me, but... they're not harming you out of malice, just like you, their scared and want to head home and they trust you to do it."

"But what if I can't?" Taeyong asked. "I just don't know why everybody wants me to do it."

"It's not bad for them to want to trust you," Jihoon explained. "I'm assuming they don't realize how much pressure they're giving you. Just- just talk it out to them, maybe they'll get it-"

They heard someone behind them scream their names, causing the two to turn their heads, surprised to see Jaehyun near the entrance of the door, Soonyoung behind him.

"I think your boyfriend is worried," Taeyong told Jihoon. "You should head back."

Jihoon frowned at him. "Soonyoung is not my- we can barely be friends, plus, you can't go out there alone."

Taeyong took a step backward, preparing to run. "I don't want to put them in danger."

"You won't," Jihoon reassured him. "You guys are a family, I promise you guys are going to be safe."

Taeyong looked at where Jaehyun and Soonyoung were standing, gulping. "I can't do it alone."

No one can. "Trust me, everyone wants to do what's best in this situation," Jihoon said. "You 21 can do it together."

***

"Since me and Taeyong are tired of everyone's shit," Doyoung said, slamming a piece of paper on the reception desk, "we're all going to do a vote. And be serious, please, I know it's a very Gen Z thing to laugh in the face of death, but the last thing we need is more anxiety in this situation."