going seventeen | seventeen

Chapter 28: Slow Burn

im sorry this book is getting dramatic holy shit..im only updating two chapters today. i know i said three for saturday but this one's a bit long it could bore you.

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it's been almost two weeks, some boys have gone home and some still visit from time to time. they wanted to stay a little longer, but they had to be home to be able to focus on online schooling, which has always been quite difficult to deal with. unbelievably, it took a pandemic for people to realize that.

jihoon was no longer sick. everyone was relieved that he didn't catch the virus at all, since soonyoung didn't feel ill despite never leaving his side. still, the boy stayed at soonyoung's place because he says it's "too lonely at home"

mingyu, wonwoo and seungkwan all stayed behind as well. wonwoo lived far and he said he didn't want to risk his health by taking a couple bus rides home. there were barely even buses operating around. of all the boys, wonwoo was the only one who didn't really have issues with online classes. being the responsible and amazingly clever student he is, it doesn't matter whether he's in the comfort of his own home or not. all he needs is his laptop, and a good internet connection.

moreover, soonyoung was glad that wonwoo was around. the boy doesn't do very well in philosophy, so wonwoo was always there to explain what he doesn't understand.

seungkwan, however, was still doing his best to prove that something's going on between soonyoung and jihoon.

"any updates on the soonhoon case?" mingyu asked the boy.

"nah. they're so suspicious though."

"how so?"

"i mean, think about it, since when did jihoon hyung let soonyoung hyung hover around him 24/7?"

"since...i don't know. never?"

"exactly!"

anyway, joshua and vernon finally started their own podcast, "left and right". jihoon made a little intro music for it, and they had it recorded with whatever equipment they had. jihoon was just really good, he managed to make it work, and it sounded amazing.

both joshua and vernon were so grateful for him, they promised to get him whatever he wanted. jihoon didn't need anything grand. he was okay with a few bottles of cola in return, to keep him awake at night while working on a stack of homework.

as promised, joshua and vernon sent 15 packs of coca cola to soonyoung's house. there are 12 cans in one pack, therefore having 180 overall. jihoon was not expecting to get that much.

one night, jihoon was almost falling asleep on the table while working on an assignment. online schooling for him was just a never ending cycle of sleep deprivation. seungkwan was seated across from him, while mingyu was washing the dishes.

"another assignment?" minseul asked as soon as she stepped in the room. "how is this possible? we're in the same class but i don't have any activities lined up in my course."

"maybe the professor is giving him so much workload because he's the best student?" seungkwan guessed.

"that doesn't make any sense," jihoon mumbled and rubbed his eyes. "i'm so tired. it's so unfair and weird how i'm the only one getting all these special assignments."

"you should get some sleep," mingyu told him.

"no, the deadline is tomorrow," jihoon whined and checked his phone. "and tomorrow is in two fucking hours."