INFERNO ༄ PARK JISUNG

four

"Who do you guys have for that English project?" Jeno threw a piece of popcorn in his mouth, leaned back into the couch cushions.

"Don't even mention it." Jisung hissed, a small red flame emitting from his fingertip.

"Dude, chill out. You know how my mom feels about fire in the house." Chenle eyed the boy, rolling his eyes at his recklessness.

"How ironic of you to tell a fire shifter to chill out." he clicked his tongue, putting out the flame emitted from him. Currently, they were at his best friend and neighbor's house, located in one of the richest areas of the Republic. Only the bourgeoisie could afford this type of living, lavishing in the hills. With Chenle's mother as the Republic's treasurer, the Zhong family definitely knew a thing or two about money.

"I got Yoo Hyerin, she's smart so I'm gonna make her do all the work." Jaemin finally gave an answer to Jeno's question, stealing popcorn from his bowl in the process.

"Oh, what joy. I got her best friend." Jisung scoffed, the urge to ignite another flame burned inside of him.

"Bro, that's good though! I say you use my strategy, it's easy." Jaemin set his feet on the coffee table, earning a look from Chenle. "My bad," he muttered, awkwardly placing them back on the floor.

"I don't care if she's smart, not that she is. I can't stand being near a prissy water shifter like her for an entire month." Jisung threw his head back in frustration, rubbing his temples with the tips of his fingers.

"What's with you and her anyways? You've been pissing her off since middle school, has she actually... done something to you?" Jeno questioned, a puzzled looking appearing on his face. The thought lingered amongst their minds, not recalling a single thing Seorin has done to personally victimize him.

"Why else? She's a water shifter."

"Yeah, clearly. But you don't pick on every single water shifter in the school, why do you fight with her?" Chenle added, also lead to wonder the same thing.

Jisung let out a sharp exhale, a small tail of fire coming out of it. "I thought it was common knowledge that our families don't get along, my dad hates hers. It's just in my blood to pester her, I guess." he bluntly explained.

"Daddy issues..." Renjun muttered inattentively, his vision not wavering from his phone.

"You-"

"Okay, how about we do something fun before Jisung sets something on fire... again." Chenle deeply sighed, recalling the amount of times something had gone up into flames in his household.

The room fell silent with tension building up in the atmosphere, the only noise heard being Jaemin blowing tiny clouds into the air. "So wispy." he cooed to himself, admiring the small balls mimicking cotton.

"Let's just watch a movie." Hyuck mumbled, grabbing the remote to put something on.

Jisung felt a buzz in his pocket, indicating that he got a text message. His eyes trailed over the notification, feeling frustration wash over him before shoving his phone back in his hoodie.

Letting out a distressed sigh, he dusted himself off while standing up from the couch. They all darted their attention towards him, confused by his abrupt actions. "What's wrong? I can change the movie-"

"I gotta go." was all he muttered before walking out the door.

Everyone exchanged the same puzzled looks, shrugging it off before averting their attention back to the television.

It wasn't abnormal for Jisung to randomly up and leave, but the question as to why always resented within his friends. Despite his mysterious persona, no one regularly exits a hang out as often as he does, always having to be called somewhere. They always just assumed he had duties as the fire leader's son.

In not much of a rush, he walked in beat with the music playing through his ears, juggling a small fireball along his fingertips. The warm sensation calmed him, relieving him of any underlying stress as if it were a buzz.

A symphony of laughter rang through a playground and cars sped past him on his stroll, though he never paid much attention to his surroundings. Some may think he's devoid of all awareness for the things around him, as if he's constantly just in his own little world. He lacked interest in sparing a glance towards the group of boys biking across the street, or the elderly couple walking in the park. He always had a tendency to focus on what's in front of him, deeming everything else irrelevant.

After a therapeutic amble to his destination, he swung the door open, hearing the entrance bell jingle above head.

"Mr. Park, great to see you again!" the man at the counter greeted the familiar face. Jisung shot a shy smile back, walking up to him with money in his hands.

"Just need a refill, Jin." was all he spoke, waiting for the worker to come back with his purchase. He fiddled with his fingers, sparking small flames from his fingertips as he waited.

A boy in the aisles caught his eyes as he fumbled while restocking shelves, struggling to reach the top one. "Why couldn't I be six feet," he cursed under his breath, finally setting it down on the surface.

"Hello, welcome to-" he started to greet Jisung at the counter, but paused quickly as he turned his attention towards him.

"A Republic leader's son working part time, interesting." he clicked his tongue, looking down at the boy he's run into one too many times.

"I'm not lazy like you, Jisung. What are you doing here anyways?" he grumbled, grabbing another box to restock.

"Here's the medicine, hope everything is going well with you, Mr. Park!" the man came back, a prescription bag in his hand. Jisung raised an eyebrow before grabbing it from him, giving a small thank you.

"You sick or something?" Mark mumbled, eyeing the paper bag in his possession. His eyes trailed over the packaging, reading the bolded letters clearly in his mind.

Jisung shoved it in his pocket quickly, shooting a threatening glare at him in the process. "I'll burn you to the ground if you tell anyone, Mark." he spat, his amber colored eyes flashing red for a split second.

Mark was left speechless as the hotheaded boy stormed out of the place. He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to recall where the name was from and why he would be picking up a prescription for them.

Kim Jihyeon.

chapter four — pills

who's kim jihyeon and why do they need medicine? :0 & why does jisung have to pick it up?? hehe