chapter five

                                    

                                          
"M-Minho?" Jisung almost gasped out, stunned.
Minho was standing there, tears coating his cheeks and there were even more tears that were streaming down his face. His lips were quivering and his eyes were so glossy, so much that they were almost as shiny as rain drops you'd find on the window ledge. Judging by the redness of his eyes, Jisung inferred that Minho had been crying for quite a while. 
Just the sight of seeing this mysterious and mystifying boy weep just made Jisung's heart shatter. Seeing those tears drip down his face. Knowing that something was definitely not right.
Minho didn't know how to act or what to think. No one had ever, ever asked him if he was okay - even if there were no tears involved. But why? Why is Jisung caring so much about him? He was so conflicted and frightened - were these questions being asked by the younger truly genuine?
"Hey." Jisung tried his hardest to be gentle with his tone - he didn't want to be harsh or sound demanding at the sight of the older boy crying in front of him. "Are you okay?" He stepped closer to Minho, who in return, almost simultaneously, jolted back. Not because he was afraid, but because he just couldn't explain.
Breathing very heavily and trembling, Minho used his blazer sleeve to dry the tears that were glistening on his face and went back into the stool to grab his backpack. He briskly went to the sink to splash water on his face and fix his hair again. The older boy did not want to remain here any longer, and was eager to exit the bathroom and just avoid the younger boy who was obviously concerned. But before he reached the door, Jisung cautiously put his hand on the older boy's shoulder, resulting in Minho begrudgingly turning his head so the two boys could make eye contact.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Jisung was more than concerned now, maybe it was because of the way he felt when Minho was in his presence or perhaps, it was due to the fact that Minho just kept shtum about the reason for the tears. And that made it more mystifying - because Jisung didn't know what was going on in the enigmatic boy's mind. "Please tell me, Minho." Jisung said the last bit quietly.
"Oh, my fucking god Jisung." Minho suddenly snapped, causing Jisung to flinch. "It's nothing, okay? Stop acting like you care about me." His tone was harsh but Jisung could hear that it was also shaky. Then, Minho wiped his tears away and yanked the door open and left.
It can't happen again. It really can't. A little voice repeated in Minho's head over and over again as he paced away from the bathroom, still trembling.
For a little while, Jisung just stood there, frozen in place as those words that Minho snarled at him replayed in his mind over and over. Stop acting like you care about me. It seemed to be a never ending statement that kept going until he reached the study area where Seungmin was waiting for him.
"Hey, Sung." His friend noticed his preoccupied expression and immediately got a bit anxious. "You good?" Jisung really wanted to tell Seungmin why he was so out of it but he just couldn't.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." The squirrel-like boy tried to conceal his true feeling of unease with a smile and it seemed that Seungmin fell for it. Clearly, because his friend smiled back in return.
A few minutes later, Felix and Jeongin joined them near the tables where they were and started talking. Any excess thoughts of unease were soon extinguished and Jisung enjoyed a nice conversation with his friends. It was just like a typical day in the study area with no signs of unease.
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Back at home, Jisung was feeling bored out of his mind, so he tried to find a way to increase his productivity by playing a bit of music on his guitar. Since the last lesson had been a free period, he decided to leave early and just relax at home. No point in really staying when he could work better at home. It was around four in the afternoon and Seungjun hadn't come home yet. Jisung decided to ring his brother but the second time he did, it just went to voicemail. 
He brushed off the feeling that could be described as ghosting and continued strumming the chords of his guitar. The house was empty so the soft chords of the guitar and the beautiful instrument of Jisung's voice would only resonate through the walls, not the ears of his family. His family was aware of Jisung's passion for music and described his voice as 'enchanting' - every time his voice was heard, it was like magic to people's ears. 
"When I put my lips on you", Jisung began to sing, quietly to start off. "I feel the shivers go up and down your spine for me. Make you cry for me" With more confidence, his singing increased in volume and the stiffness in his hands reduced and began playing the chords of his guitar with more confidence. "When I put my lips on you, I hear your voice echoing all through the night for me. Baby, cry for me." He was about to continue and sing the next bit of the song, but just before he could enunciate the next words, his phone rang.
He looked up and saw that it was an incoming call from little jeongin
Before he pressed the green button to answer, he let the phone ring just to change his contact name from little jeongin to my cute fox jeongin 🦊🧡
He then pressed the green button.
J: "Hey, Innie. You ok?"
I: "Yeah, yeah." His tone begged to differ - it seemed hesitant.
J: "Innie, you hesitated. You always call and have a massive burst of energy. What's up?"
After a slight pause, Jeongin took a deep sigh and answered.
I: "Fine. Something happened earlier and I need to talk to you. I didn't want to say it earlier because, yeah." 
J: "Do you want to talk here on call or meet up?"
I: "Could you come to the cafe?"
J: "Yeah, I'll be there shortly."
Jisung quickly checked the time on his phone and it was 16:09. He could make it there in about ten minutes if he walked. He was still in his school uniform, just minus the blazer - he found it quite comfy. He rushed to put on his high top converse and grab his hoodie along with a small bag for his phone and headphones. 
Jisung stood outside his parents' cafe and headed inside to find many of the chairs and tables occupied. Honestly, his parents' cafe was more like a restaurant, due to the food on the menus and its immense popularity in town. He scanned the room as soon as he was in the doorway and spotted Jeongin placing some cookies on display. He was wearing a white short sleeve polo shirt with the cafe's logo, dark red trousers, along with a red name tag on his shirt to indicate that he worked here and finally, he wore his fox ears on his dyed red hair.
His friend had just finished organising some more treats when he noticed Jisung and waved fervently. Jeongin managed to get a part time job working at Jisung's parents' cafe and even though it was only two days of the week, it had a decent salary. Jisung often helped out at the cafe too, sometimes a bit more in the week.
"Um, Na-ri, I'm going to take a little break but could you ask Yeji to just cover me for a few minutes?" Jeongin asked politely at the glimpse of Jisung's mother who was just finishing up a customer's order.
"Oh, yeah, of course sweetie." She had just served a customer a cookie in a bag before she made her way to her son. "And hello to you, Sungie." She giggled while ruffling Jisung's hair.
Later, Jisung and Jeongin were sitting on the couch in the corner of the cafe. Jisung had a cookie on a plate on the table and was getting excited to be able to eat it. Jeongin fiddled with the hem of his shirt as he nervously glanced up at Jisung.
Jisung decided that since he was here, he should confide in Jeongin about what had happened with Minho. It was just the two of them. 
At the same time they both said
"Something happened at school."