Burnout ⊗ Jeongchan

②⑥ Law of Attraction

Jeongin briskly paced down the long hallway of his school. Being there, having to interact with people at every corner and fake a sweet smile at every turn, in the few days he spent away from it he had forgotten how tiring it became. Luckily the day was sliding by without too much of an issue; the books in his bag didn't weight as heavily on his shoulders and the droning lectures flew by. Though it might have been because he was drifting in and out of conscious. Regardless, lunch was a much needed break from the routine, even if it became a prolonged game of Dodge 'Em with teachers and other students with all too familiar faces trying to track him down.

Jeongin scurried around the third floor. He rounded a corner, paying more attention to the way the hallway lights reflected off the tile floors than the path in front of him. Wrongfully so because as soon as he was met with the looming hall, he was also met with a door nearly slamming into his face. Jeongin sprung back, the door skimming by with barely an inch to spare.

"Oh, Jeongin, there you are. I was looking for you."

"I..." He quickly regained his composure, moving the shield of his hand he subconsciously used to protect his nose from the full force of the door away from his face. No wonder he was being looked for. The vice president of the student body towered before him, the mere weight of her presence pushing down on his very soul because of course, he wouldn't be able to escape those responsibilities forever. She was carrying a decent sized box, and wasn't appearing to be too happy about it either. Smiling softly, Jeongin readjusted his uniform blazer and greeted, "Hello! Can I help you?"

She glowered at him, "Um, yes, you can. You can help me with all the duties that have been pushed on to me since you've been absent at the meetings."

"Ah! Of course, I'm so sorry," He lightly hit his forehead with the palm of his hand, silently hoping the gesture would be enough to convince her to forgive his absences. When she just continued an icy scowl, he dropped his head into a bow and preached, "Thank you for taking care of the work for me while I was gone. I just haven't been feeling very well these past few days. A seasonal cough."

"It has been getting chillier lately. I guess it's not an issue then," She pressed her lips into a thin line. Seeming to consider something for a few seconds, the vice president passed the box she was holding over to Jeongin, the contents rattling sharply against each other as it was passed over without a care, "Here. Make yourself useful. Take these to the chemistry teacher, Mr. Park, on the second floor, you know him?"

Jeongin lurched back, the corner of the box dug into the rivets of his rib cage. He swallowed back a snide remark bubbling in his veins. Hanging around the crew was doing wonders for his vernacular of insults. Settling for the sweetest grin he could muster and ironing out the sharpness in his tongue, he masked it with a polite nod, "Yes, I'd be glad to."

"Good. Get the papers for the lockers turned in as soon as you can. I'll take care of everything else until you're," She gave him a quick once-over, "Feeling a bit better."

"Yes, thank you," Jeongin dipped his head down once more. She briefly returned his polite smile before turning on her heel and returning to the room she previously left.

He stared at the closed door.

As if doing a tiresome errand would give me worth.

Biting on his bottom lip, Jeongin carefully set off to deliver the package. As he stepped gingerly on the linoleum floors, he shifted the box to sit easier in his grip, the load hidden under the cardboard lid clicking miserably together from the jostling of the container and his steps. So eager to abandon the box; he would almost feel bad for it if he had the time to be concerned with a cardboard box. He frowned, That's probably what they think too. Checking to make sure no one else was around him, Jeongin let himself pity the inanimate object for a while longer, at least until he realized the box wouldn't be able to feel the heartbreak anyway.