RULES. seungjin.

【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ３０】

"Hyunjin?"

The boy in question blinks back to reality, his vision coming to as he realizes where he is: at Moonlit Cafe, sitting on one of the stools near the dessert counter as he takes his short break.

It was Chan who called his name, standing right in front of him, eyes filled with worry.

"Chan-hyung?" Hyunjin mutters before perking up, "Is my break over?"

"No... I figured there was something on your mind," Chan intones. Hyunjin rubs his arms and tilts his head, "No, nothing is on my mind."

"Are you sure?" Chan asks skeptically.

Hyunjin gives a tight-lipped smile, "Yeah, in fact... I'm great."

It isn't a total lie. The chain of events that led up to this moment has been a whirlpool of mishaps and out of control emotions, however, time has passed, thus things are settling back to the way things were. As if the huge storm had finally passed on, the grey clouds clearing away, leaving the waters undisturbed, no ripple in sight.

Hyunjin admits that things have been going exceptionally well this summer on behalf of Stray Kids. On his path of moving on from Seungmin, he finds himself trying to be as happy as he can in every waking moment. Thankfully, he is able to distract himself and just simply be happy as his friends are constantly bombarding his text messages with plans to hang out and to do something fun, whether it be going to arcades, shopping, eating, or watching movies indoors. Hyunjin had already lost count of the number of sleepovers they've had in the previous weeks. Despite the fun times, there have been a few episodes where Hyunjin finds himself curling up in his room to cry, thinking about terrible, self- depreciating thoughts.

One time, they were all in Woojin and Chan's living room, watching a K-drama, and Hyunjin bawled a little more than he would've thought after seeing the main female lead get rejected from her crush. Fortunately, Chan had quickly switched the show to a comedy while Minho had hugged and comforted Hyunjin, scolding his boyfriend for choosing that particular K-drama.

"Shhh. It's alright Jinnie. Sungie has terrible taste in K-dramas doesn't he?"

"But that's what happens in almost all these shows!"

Hyunjin no longer had breakdowns like those, rather at times, he'd simply be quiet and just stare off blankly into space. It happened quite often and it was difficult for the others to snap him back to reality. The others often tried to edge him to talk about his feelings and get intel on how he was mentally, but it is still hard for Hyunjin to budge. He went to find comfort at times, and thankfully, they wouldn't say much and just cuddle with him. Additionally, throughout the weeks, Hyunjin had bonded with Felix and Jisung more, sticking to each other at the hips. Hyunjin is glad that he can sometimes be genuinely happy with them.

"College starts in like a week. Are you excited?" Chan asks. Hyunjin grins and nods his head vehemently.

What he is most proud of is the fact that he danced way more often now. Whenever he felt stressed, bored, or upset, he would dance the negativity away from his body, giving his nerves some relief. Dancing with Minho and Felix were some of Hyunjin's favorite moments. It is a great distraction to his thoughts.

"I can't wait," Hyunjin sighs happily. Other than feeling excited, he is also extremely nervous. He may love to dance, but no one, other than Minho and Felix, knows the fact that he is incredibly insecure about his skills. He hates judgment from others and hates dancing in front of people. It took a while for him to even dance in front of Felix a few weeks ago. Hyunjin prefers to dance for himself, not for others.

"I'm really proud of you Hyunjinnie," Chan praises, giving the boy a warm hug. Hyunjin giggles, and gives in to hug the older back.

"Hey...," Chan then mutters and Hyunjin raises an eyebrow, "Hm?"