It's been 11 days since Jinhyuk started having secret affairs.
Jinhyuk was surprised by Jihoon's unusually frequent contact. "Is this why people flirt? I guess it was good I listened to my sister. I hope Jihoon wasn't hurt." Jinhyuk lay on the bed, clutching his hair in agony. And then he thought.
‘Ha… I miss Jihoon. I want to eat with him, go to the bookstore, do everything with him…’
Meanwhile, Ji-hoon was hurt by Jin-hyeok's blatant avoidance.
"Do you hate me now? Did I do something wrong to Jinhyuk? What's the problem now?"
Ji-hoon bit his nails, feeling anxious. Ji-hoon, who was walking alone to school again today, ran into Hyun-soo on the way. Hyun-soo greeted Ji-hoon warmly as he walked to school alone.
"Jihoon~! Let's go together~"
Hyunsoo, with his tall stature, placed his arm around Jihoon's shoulder. However, Jihoon seemed more depressed than usual, and Hyunsoo felt uneasy.
“Hey Jihoon, I feel so bad….”
Hyunsoo looked down at Jihoon's face. Jihoon had dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in days, anxious about Jinhyuk's recent behavior. Startled by the sight, Hyunsoo let go of his arm around Jihoon's shoulder and spoke.
“Hey..are you okay..?”
Jihoon said weakly.
“Huh..? Uh..yeah…”
Hyunsoo saw Jihoon's condition and contacted Jinhyuk without Jihoon knowing.
Jinhyuk was heartbroken when he received the call. "What am I supposed to do? Jihoon is in this state because of me?" Jinhyuk stared at his phone in the classroom, unsure of what to do. "This isn't what I wanted."
Jinhyuk sighed deeply and slumped down on the desk.
‘…Shit, should I stop now?’
Jinhyuk had been away from Jihoon for so many days that he wanted to see him, but he didn't have the courage to do so because he thought it would be awkward.
After some time passed, Hyunsoo and Jihoon arrived at the classroom. Jihoon and Jinhyuk made eye contact. Jinhyuk felt sorry for Jihoon who looked so tired, just as Hyunsoo had said.
‘..Is it really because of me that Jihoon is having such a hard time..?’
Meanwhile, Ji-hoon wanted to pretend to know Jin-hyeok, but fearing he'd avoid him again, he couldn't say hello and sat quietly. Jin-hyeok felt uncomfortable around Ji-hoon, but he forced himself to endure it and simply stared out the classroom window.
It was break time, and Jinhyuk left his seat. Jihoon just stared blankly in silence. Seeing Jihoon in such a state, Hyunsoo decided to feed him something, so he took him to the snack bar.
“Ji-hoon, let’s go to the store so I can buy you something to eat.”
“Uh..uh..”
-Inside the store
The store was always bustling with people. As soon as Hyun-soo entered, the female students all looked at him in admiration, then brought him food and shoved it at him.
“Hyunsoo.. do you want to eat this??”
"Hey, no, Hyunsu doesn't like sweets. Eat this, Hyunsu."
Hyunsoo smiles affectionately and refuses the girls who are swarming around him.
"Haha kids~ I'm so grateful for your kindness, but I feel a bit awkward accepting it right now ㅜㅜ Please do it later ㅎㅎ"
When girls swarmed around Hyunsoo, Jihoon naturally stood behind him. Hyunsoo turned them away, seemingly out of discomfort for Jihoon. Jihoon simply looked at Hyunsoo with envious eyes. What would it feel like to be so popular and loved?
"Jihoon! Choose quickly. I'll buy it for you."
"Ah..yeah..."
Jihoon was about to pick up a chocolate milk when he thought of Jinhyuk and turned around.
‘Hyunsoo said Jinhyuk doesn’t like sweet things, so I’ll give him an Americano…’
Ji-hoon approached Hyun-soo with an Americano and chocolate milk.
"Huh? Jihoon, what kind of combination is Americano and chocolate milk?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm giving this to Jinhyuk."
"to..?"
“…Jinhyuk will catch it today.”
Hyunsoo felt frustrated seeing Jihoon thinking about Jinhyuk.
"What the heck? Those two are acting all sorts of different ways..."
Hyunsoo agreed, thinking they should just let it slide, and paid the bill together. The two left the store and headed to class, but Jinhyuk was caught by the girls while secretly following them.
“Oh, Jinhyuk, what are you doing here?”
"Uh..uh..? No.."
Ji-hoon turned his head as soon as he heard Jin-hyeok's name. Jin-hyeok was getting irritated and telling the girls to shush him.
"Huh? Jinhyuk..."
"ah…"
Jinhyuk ran away, his face flushed with embarrassment as Jihoon and Hyunsoo looked at him. Jihoon, seeing Jinhyuk running away, unconsciously ran towards him.
"Hey..! Kim Jin-hyeok.!!!!"
Jinhyuk didn't even look back at Jihoon's call and kept running. Jihoon, already physically exhausted, was exhausted, but he kept running, trying to catch Jinhyuk. Then Jihoon tripped over his own foot and fell.
bang-!
A loud noise behind him brought Jinhyuk to a halt and turned around. Seeing Jihoon fall and bleeding from his knee, Jinhyuk ran to him without hesitation. He then raised his voice and spoke to Jihoon, who had a hole in his clothes and a bleeding knee.
“You idiot!! What if you just run after me? You’ll get hurt!”
Ji-hoon was surprised by Jin-hyeok's shout, but he smiled at the thought that they could finally be together.
"Haha.. I finally caught it"
"Huh..? Are you laughing right now?"
"Yeah.. haha"
"Oh, and this."
Ji-hoon gave Jin-hyeok the Americano he had bought at the convenience store with Hyun-soo earlier. Jin-hyeok received the Americano and said in embarrassment.
"what..?"
"I bought it for you to drink haha.."
Jinhyuk's heart ached as he received coffee from Jihoon. "I've been avoiding you so much, yet you still think of me." Seeing Jihoon's innocent smile, Jinhyuk felt a wave of regret over his past actions. Seeing Jihoon, who had lost some weight and had dark circles under his eyes, smile weakly, he felt like crying. Jinhyuk tried to carry Jihoon to the infirmary. Jihoon was taken aback by Jinhyuk's sudden action.
“Hey..! What are you doing..”
“Stay still. You’re hurt.”
“…”
Perhaps it was because they hadn't been together in a while. Ji-hoon smiled broadly, feeling happy just being with Jin-hyeok, and headed to the infirmary in Jin-hyeok's arms.
Jinhyuk and Jihoon arrived at the infirmary and received treatment from the teacher. As Jihoon was about to return to class, Jinhyuk sat him down again and spoke to the infirmary.
“Teacher, Ji-hoon hasn’t been able to sleep for a few days. He’s having a hard time. Can I let him sleep here for a bit before I go?”
"Okay, you figure it out."
Jinhyuk grabbed Jihoon's wrist and led him to the bed, where he laid him down. He covered him with a blanket and sat down next to Jihoon without saying a word.
“…Jinhyuk over there.”
”…“
“Hey Kim Jin-hyeok….”
"…why"
"Are you going to avoid me again?"
"uh..?"
Jinhyuk raised his head and looked at Jihoon. Jihoon's expression was one of anxiety. Seeing that, Jinhyuk thought.
‘I’ve been hurting Jihoon all this time.’
Jinhyuk's heart ached when he saw Jihoon's expression. Feeling guilty, he couldn't look at Jihoon and lowered his head again.
"….Sorry"
"huh?"
“….I’m sorry for avoiding you all this time.”
“….Then why..”
"huh..?"
Ji-hoon bit his lip, unable to continue speaking. Jin-hyeok was taken aback by Ji-hoon's behavior.
“What’s wrong, Jihoon..?”
Ji-hoon said with tears in his eyes.
“..You didn’t avoid me..because you hated me..?”
"what?"
Jinhyuk paused for a moment at Jihoon's tears and words.
“What have I done to this child?”
Jinhyuk hugged Jihoon and said.
"I don't hate you. I just avoided you because I didn't like you."
Ji-hoon cries and punches Jin-hyeok on the shoulder, saying:
“You idiot.. Then why.. Heuk.. Why did you avoid me.. Heuk...”
Ji-hoon wept bitterly in Jin-hyeok's arms, and Jin-hyeok simply held him in silence. And Jin-hyeok simply repeated the same words to Ji-hoon.
"I'm sorry, Jihoon. It was my fault. I'm sorry."
He soothed Ji-hoon for a long time. Ji-hoon, having been unable to sleep properly, fell asleep immediately. Jin-hyeok watched Ji-hoon sleep, his eyes red from tears, and stroked his hand.
“…This is why I hate pushovers.”
Jinhyuk, who had been by Jihoon's side for a while, watched his face from the side until Jihoon woke up. Seeing Jihoon's slimmer appearance, Jinhyuk thought.
“I should make some food for you today.”
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