Stop | HyunIn

3

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" Jeongin said, raising his eyebrows. He smacked Hyunjin's arm and began scolding him, "who told you to get involved and act like that anyways? Now look at your face!"

Hyunjin winced, "Oww, be gentler, will you?"

Jeongin sighed. He pulled his sleeve and soaked it under the tap. Then he used it to wipe the bloody corner of Hyunjin's mouth. Suddenly, Hyunjin held his wrist and Jeongin looked up. Hyunjin stared deeply into his eyes, and whispered,

"It hurts."

Jeongin quickly broke eye contact, looked at the floor and took a step back from the boy in front of him.

"Um.. uh..." he cleared his throat, "of course it would... you need to treat it properly when- when you get home." 

Hyunjin turned to the dirty mirrors and stared sadly at his reflection.

"Oh my handsome face," he cried, "I'll never forgive them for this one."  He looked back at Jeongin who was watching him, astounded at Hyunjin's love for his face. They both looked at each other for a moment before they burst out laughing.

It was ever since then that Hyunjin and Jeongin became the best of friends, an inseparable pair. Soon, with Hyunjin constantly standing up to others when Jeongin couldn't, Jeongin didn't have to spend his school days trapped in fear. His grades went up and he could proudly announce his grades at the top of his voice to his parents.

But there was always one thing that was constantly worrying him. Something he couldn't tell anyone, not even Hyunjin...

"...Ok class, that's it for this lesson. Make sure to hand in your essays on Tuesday." The teacher said as the bell rang.

Hyunjin yawned and leaned back in his chair. "Ugh, I'm so exhausted." Jeongin looked over and smiled weakly, as he put all his books in his bag.

"Come on, let's go." He said, standing up. He looked down at Hyunjin, who was still leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. "I'll buy you ice cream." Jeongin added. Hyunjin's eyes immediately opened and he grinned.

"Seriously? Ok ok wait up!" He said, as he began shoving his books in his bag. "No takesy backsies!" He said, putting his arm around Jeongin and pulling him closer.

The two walked down the corridor, laughing and talking about the most random things until they were stopped by a fairly pretty girl in their class.

"Hi Jeongin! I'm...I'm ChaeRin." She said, smiling brightly but nervously.

"Oh...uh hello." Jeongin replied, taken aback. He could hear Hyunjin trying to stifle a laugh and elbowed him, slightly.

"I just wanted to ask if... if you maybe wanted to go out sometime?" She asked, hesitantly.

Jeongin didn't know what to say. He barely even knew this girl, but didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Uhh ChaeRin? Now's not the best time. I'm kinda busy with...stuff?" He almost face palmed at his own stupidity. He watched her hopeful expression crumble and tried to somehow fix it. "But maybe when I'm free, we could... we could... go out sometime?" He said, forcing a smile.

Her face lit up and she smiled again, "ok, I'll wait for you!" Then she left, bursting with happiness and Jeongin sighed. Hyunjin pushed his shoulder, lightly, laughing quietly.

"Dude, how could you reject her like that?" He snickered, "'I'm busy with...stuff?'" He mimicked Jeongin's words from before.

"Oh shut up before I change my mind about the ice cream." He said, laughing it off.

They both got their ice cream and sat on a bench in a park. They enjoyed the slight summer breeze and could hear the sound of children running around nearby.

"Hey, Jeongin," Hyunjin said, breaking the silence.

"Hm?"

"Do you remember when we first met?" He asked, licking the ice cream off his spoon.

"Yeah, why?" Jeongin replied, confused.

"Nothing, I was just remembering." Hyunjin looked up at the clear sky. "I was just trying to be nice and you wanted nothing to do with me."

"Hey, when you say it like that it makes me sound bad!" Jeongin exclaimed. "I was looking out for you. If you were my friend you would've had to endure that hell too."

"Oh yeah? What was it you said? 'You will gain nothing from being nice to me. In fact, you'll probably regret it soon enough. So, please, just leave me alone'" Hyunjin laughed, loudly. "Lucky I stuck by you, huh?"

"Yeah..." Jeongin mumbled.

"What was their problem with you anyways?"

Jeongin sighed, "I was just an easy target. My mum worked as a cleaner for the school so they decided to make fun of me for it."

They were both silent for a short moment before Jeongin felt a hand on his back.

"Don't worry, I'm here now."

A bit of a cute chapter :)