flower boy | seungjin

27

By the time Days Gone By comes into view as he rounds the corner, Hyunjin could swear his heart is pounding faster than a horse's hooves storming down a track in a race. He has to focus to steady his breathing.

Why is he here, you ask? Well, he figures that if Seungmin isn't at his dorm, he's either out riding his skateboard somewhere in the city or with Jae in the diner.

Hyunjin props his own skateboard - which he'd picked up on his way here - in the entryway before finally looking up and letting his eyes scan the room for that one familiar face. He doesn't spot Seungmin, but his eyes find Jae soon enough. The guy is hunched over the counter, nose buried in some book with a thousand post-its sticking from the pages and his eyebrows furrowed, a pen twiddling in his right hand.

In fact, Jae is so invested in the pages of his book that he doesn't glance up until Hyunjin is standing right in front of him. He stares at him - with his kind of ragged looking clothes and sheepish expression. "Let me guess, you want me to tell you where he is?"

Hyunjin purses his lips and doesn't answer.

Jae sighs. "He's in hospital."

That gets his attention. Hyunjin's eyes widen, "W-why?" he stumbles. Suddenly his mind is raging, as memories flood back into his head. Seungmin, telling Hyunjin how his heart acts up when he gets too emotional or over-exerts himself; Seungmin, telling Hyunjin how one time it was so bad he feinted and ended up in hospital.

Is it possible he's there because of Hyunjin? Bile rises up in Hyunjin's throat, and he forcibly swallows it down feeling the burn. It nearly comes back up when Jae confirms his fears.

"The day he was supposed to meet you - and the day you ditched him-" Hyunjin acknowledges the disdainful look he receives with accusation and can only nod and wait for Jae to carry on. "He said his chest had been aching all day, but after you did... what you did... I don't even want to tell you." Jae sucks in a breath, raising his gaze to stare Hyunjin down. "One, it's not my place. Two, I never want to have to relive seeing my best friend look the way he did before the ambulance arrived to take him away."

Hyunjin gulps. "I, uh... I need to talk to him."

There's a few moments of silence, where both of them stand motionless across from each other. Finally, Jae sighs. "Why am I telling you this...." he mutters to himself.

"He'll be home later this evening, about eight o'clock."

The rain is pouring heavily by the time Hyunjin finally spots the car pulling up to the front of the apartments. He'd attempted to take refuge under the small canopy in the doorway - but that hadn't stopped him from being soaking wet. His clothes are drenched through and he's pretty sure he could wring his hair out like a towel if he really wanted to.

He notices Jae in the front seat of the car, with another unfamiliar boy beside him. Hyunjin watches Jae twist round in his seat and look behind him for a while, his lips moving faintly.

Finally, the car's back door opens, and Seungmin clambers out.

Hyunjin's breath catches, but he doesn't make any moves until Seungmin spots him. It stops him in his tracks for a few seconds, as Seungmin feels the inkling of confusion, pain, curiosity and a bubbling anger threatening to rise in his chest. He steps closer and so does Hyunjin, both of their faces now illuminated by the single overhead light as they take each other in.

Oh, how things have changed, since they last looked at each other like this. Before it got complicated - before Hyunjin made arguably the worst mistake of his life and before Seungmin's heart nearly failed him.