flower boy | seungjin

23

tw// descriptions of psychological abuse - gaslighting, narcissism, manipulation 

Hyunjin knows Seungmin's seen the text because of the way his head darts up and he stares wildly out of the glass. The way his eyes are so wide and his lips jut out in a small pout sends a pang through Hyunjin's heart. But he forces his face to remain emotionless, despite the tears threatening the corner of his eyes.

And when Seungmin finally sees him, he lets his hard gaze linger on him for a second, before Hyunjin turns on his heel and walks back the way he came.

The emotions swirling in a whirlwind through Seungmin's mind right now are enough to make anyone pass out. He can barely form a coherent thought over the confusion, anger, hurt, and sudden self-loathing brought on by such a short text and that one look on Hyunjin's face.

Seungmin's bottom lip quivers, but not before the number on his watch begins to rise exponentially, and the pulsing of his heart punches at his ribcage. The beeping is a bit late for once, but the sound is loud enough to draw the attention of the other customers in the diner. They stare at Seungmin - some with annoyance, others with concern - as the boy grapples at his chest; he wants to rip his heart straight out of his body, and would have continued trying if someone hadn't yelled, drawing Jae's attention from the kitchen.

Jae instantly recognises the sound of Seungmin's watch, breath catching in his throat as he sprints forward.

"Hey, Seungmin!" he says, grabbing the boy's shoulder and lightly shaking him. But Seungmin just curls up against him, unable to speak and struggling with slow, raspy breaths.

By the time the ambulance arrives, Seungmin's unconscious. He didn't speak one word during the whole time Jae was by his side. Eventually his eyes fluttered shut and his body went limp, but the rampant wailing of his heart monitor didn't falter once. The paramedics take Seungmin's watch off once they connect him to the cardiac monitor in the vehicle, and the beeping finally stops. The silence isn't as comforting as it should've been.

After that, many of the customers are shaken, but they leave Jae alone as he sits where Seungmin had been and stares out of the window. This is the second time Seungmin's been admitted to hospital, but this seemed worse than last time. Something was different. Jae can't place his finger on what though.

What did Seungmin say when he arrived? 'Hyunjin's meeting me,' but as far as Jae knows, Hyunjin never showed up.

He furrows his eyebrows, but gives up thinking after some time. He stands up and hastily wipes at his eyes on his apron, and goes back into the kitchen to sign out.

***

Jaemin's eyes dart up at the sound of the front door swinging open, slamming back against the wall hard enough to leave a sizeable dent in the plaster. He barely registers the sound before Hyunjin comes in, eyes glazed over and fingertips trembling.

"Where's Jeno?" he asks, his voice shaking.

"In his room." Jaemin gets up to follow the boy as he beelines for the last door at the end of the corridor, pushing inside and walking straight over to the bed, his arm coming up and pressing his phone screen to Jeno's face.

Jeno smirks, and throws an impressed glance up to the boy in front of him. "Wow. I mean, I didn't think you'd actually do it."

"So is that it?" Hyunjin asks. "God, are you happy now?"

"You completed my dare." The smile is so out of place. "Congratulations."

He watches Hyunjin stalk off, and the boy breaks into a run, wanting to hide away as fast as he can.