The Gift ; seungjin

°• 01 •°

It took Jeongin just fifteen minutes or so to get to the three Virgos' shared apartment. He had planned to pay them a short visit after he was done with his final exams, but he ended up a little concerned when he was informed that his favorite hyung's (not that he was going to admit that statement) nausea and vomiting didn't cease; so he decided to take a small break from his studying and take the opportunity to go to their apartment that afternoon, just to check on the older's condition. Although, Jeongin was certain it wouldn't be anything serious: maybe it was caused because of something the elder had ingested or simply the amount of alcohol he had at the party really made him sick. Even though, this didn't prevent some concern to grow up on the youngest of the group of friends, after all, Seungmin had always been there for him - from the moment they met in Jeongin's first year of college, Seungmin had been nothing but a sweet and funny (and kind of weird, it all must be said) sunbae who would lend his help in any situation and whenever he needed it, without even hesitating. He not only helped him study for his tests; Seungmin would always look after him, making sure he didn't skip any meals and was warmly dressed in order to not catch a cold. Seungmin had become the mother and friend he needed the most during his hard and lonely student life at the college dorms.

With a small smile formed due to his treasured memories with Seungmin, Jeongin stepped into the building's elevator, pressed the button number 7, and simply proceeded to wait, squeezing with a little more strength the bag in which he carried some medicines he had bought for his hyung - he stopped by a pharmacy that wasn't too far from the building, thinking his friends wouldn't have anything at all for Seungmin to take. And he was right. The black-haired boy took his cell phone out of his jeans' pocket to check if he had any messages or missed calls, but beyond a couple of text messages from his little brother asking where his Nintendo Switch was, there was nothing new, so he just waited for the elevator to reach its destination while humming a random song.

Truth be told, Jeongin was grateful not only for Seungmin, but for all of his friends. Yes, they could be crazy, weird, childish, tiresome, outrageous, and terribly, terribly annoying at times, but what about all the good times they had given to him? Jeongin would never admit it out loud, much less say it face to face to any of the boys, but the thought that next year he would no longer be able to see them around the campus made Jeongin really saddened. He would miss watching them from afar, waiting for him, to pull off their famous Pizza Fridays, in which when classes were over, they would go out for pizza as a self-reward for surviving another week in that living hell called college. Ah, those Fridays. Fridays were the best of the days. "Weirdo", they would call Seungmin as the waitress placed his order, a pineapple pizza, on the table. Seungmin would call them tasteless, in return. Jeongin was also going to miss those days when they would skip some of their classes to go to the park, lie on the grass and eat some unhealthy snacks they should avoid, while talking about their worries or gossip, or simply enjoy each other's company while cherishing the warmth of the spring sun sunlight.

A sharp ding brought Jeongin out of his thoughts, and just as the memory doors of his mind opened, so did the elevator's. The twenty-two-year-old made his way to door D. He didn't need to ring the bell, as he had a small copy of the apartment key he carried in his fanny pack. He obtained it through an 'acceptance ritual', as they liked to call it, which Jeongin fiercely tried to forget and which we shall omit for now... So, happy to see his friends after the night of the party, Jeongin stepped into the apartment, where he was greeted by a flying slipper that recklessly combed his bangs. Jeongin, nevertheless, didn't flinch, and rolled his eyes as he picked up the slipper that had fallen to the ground. It was nothing out of the ordinary to be greeted like this, this being the scariest part about the whole situation.

"Felix!"

Hearing Jisung scream wasn't something uncommon, either. In fact, it would be concerning if he wasn't. Jeongin was totally used to it by then, but there was something about his voice tone that was unsettling, and the chill Jeongin felt seemed like a signal sent from Heaven itself, like it was telling him he shouldn't be there. And maybe that sign was right.