On Monday, he ignored him at school.

On Tuesday, he stopped coming to school altogether.

On Wednesday, he ignored his calls.

On Thursday, he ignored his texts.

On Friday, Jonghyun began to panic.

It had been a week since Kibum had left the cafe with no explanation, and the elder had not heard back at all from him. He wondered if maybe he had said or done something wrong, but no matter how hard he racked his brain he couldn’t figure it out. They weren’t talking about much, since both were occupied by their own things. At first, Jonghyun wanted to give him some space, but now horrible thoughts were running through his head. He thought of the worst possible case scenarios, like an infection left Kibum bedridden, or an accident that left him stranded, or even something worse. He didn't want to think about that option.

Day after day Jonghyun grew more anxious and felt like he was going to explode the more he was ignored. He'd walk to Kibum's apartment absentmindedly and debated whether he should confront him, arguing with himself as he stood in front of his door, but each time he’d change his mind at the last minute and rush home. Plagued by his own restlessness, Jonghyun began to skip out on meals to instead stare at his phone, waiting for a reply. Then he began pulling all nighters, putting his phone on the highest ringer it could go so he wouldn’t miss a message, and instead of doing his homework, he laid on his bed with his phone resting on his stomach. Not wanting to wait further, he sent him a series of texts to reach out to Kibum.

Mon at 7:19 p.m
Me: hey kibum?
Me: is everything okay?
Tues at 9:30 p.m
Me: im sorry if im being clingy
Me: i’ll leave you alone
Thurs at 3:30 a.m
Me: im sorry
Me: i don’t know if it was something i did or said but im so so sorry kibum please answer me
Today at 2:12 p.m
Me: kibum please just tell me what i did wrong im sorry

Monday came around again and Jonghyun finally caught sight of Kibum at school. He felt happiness course through his body; the relief of seeing him there intact and unhurt rattled him to the core. He looked exactly as he had last seen him with maybe a bit more exhaustion lining his gorgeous features. Not once did he try to look at the elder, and every time it seemed liked their paths would cross, Kibum would quickly go the other way and confirm Jonghyun’s suspicions that he was being avoided.

As the week rolled by and Jonghyun waited in agony, his emotions went from hurt, to sadness, to finally an anger that surprised even himself. Why was he caring so much about Kibum? What was so special about him that made him desire and yearn for him? If it wasn't for their agreement, Jonghyun wouldn't have anything to do with him. It was all his fault that he was stuck in this mess. Although Jonghyun hadn't been threatened to stay he knew that if he tried, Kibum would find a way to force him back. It bothered him how before he was so inclined on shaping and pushing him to be someone he wasn't, just to one day pretend he didn’t exist.

And so, Jonghyun decided to push Kibum from his mind when the end of the week arrived. After all, he had told him that he didn’t want any strings attached, so Jonghyun was only complying with his end of the deal. He wasn’t even going to hound Kibum down for the money, either. He figured that he would just get a job like everyone one else and pay off his card on his own.

His friends were beginning to worry about him, too. Jonghyun wasn’t talking to any of them and he was sulking a lot. He wouldn’t even respond to Minho and Taemin’s antics, something he usually loved to take part of. He wouldn’t even talk to Jinki, the member of their group that he probably confided more with than anyone.

“I’m worried about Jonghyun,” the eldest said as he and the other two boys walked out of the school. They nodded in agreement and stood for a moment to watch their friend walk in the opposite direction as them, his head hung low as he walked home.

“We should do something to make him feel better,” Minho suggested. Jinki wasn’t sure that Jonghyun wanted to be bothered, but then again, they weren’t really sure what the problem was to begin with. The more time he was spending with this ‘Kibum,’ the more he was drifting apart from his other friends. Everyone at school knew that Kibum and Jonghyun were dating and with time the trio accepted that as a fact as well. Rumors were spreading now that the two had a fallout, but neither of them had said anything about it. Jonghyun's sudden flip in behavior had them confused and worried.

“What do you have in mind?” Taemin asked, fixing the strap of his gym bag on his shoulder. They had begun to make it a habit to go to Taemin’s dance studio after school to watch the youngest practice. It was amazing how great he was doing with only a few lessons, but then again he had been dancing all his life. Jinki would do his homework and Minho would play on his phone until Taemin was done and they’d go home.

“Let’s take him to the studio! He hasn’t been in there since you started, so maybe we can throw him a little ‘Feel Better,’ party,” Jinki didn’t think the idea was half bad, and judging from Taemin’s excited grin, he knew he felt the same.

“Alright, let’s go surprise our Jonghyunnie!”

“Taem, I don’t want to go out,” Jonghyun whined as his friend dragged him out of his house. Taemin shot his mom a grin, waving and assuring her that he wouldn’t have her son out too late.

“Alright Taemin, thank you!” she called back with a smile. She was glad that her son had the friends he did; she was also beginning to worry about Jonghyun since all he did was shut himself up in his room.

“Where are we going?” the older boy said exasperated. He didn’t have the energy to be out today, and much less to socialize. He felt guilty when he thought about the last time he saw his friends, which was over a month ago, but his bad mood was not sympathizing. Taemin only hummed with a mischievous grin, dragging him along faster.

At the dance studio, Minho and Jinki waited in the dark, occasionally elbowing each other and shushing their giggles down. They had decorated the place with cheap streamers Minho had in his house in storage, and they had written on the large mirror with erasable marker, ‘KIM JONGHYUN’S FEEL BETTER PARTY.’ Jinki had brought an array of snacks and drinks, (snuck in, of course,) and even bought him a cake. The stereo on the side had one of Jonghyun’s favorite tracks waiting to be played when he’d enter. They held their breaths whenever they heard someone pass by.

When Taemin had managed to take him to the studio, Jonghyun was only growing more irritated. Didn’t this maknae understand that his hyung was tired? The more questions that were dodged, the more he was ready to lash out at him. He didn’t care if it was harsh, he was really upset and didn’t want to be bothered.

The maknae had sensed his hyung’s discomfort and only picked up the pace. They stopped in front of a door, and Taemin gave it three quick taps before he opened it. Jonghyun was pushed inside and met with darkness. He was about to finally lose it when he heard his friends’ voices.

“SURPRISE!!” Minho and Jinki shouted as Taemin the lights. Minho pushed the ‘play’ button on the stereo, but instead of his favorite song coming out, some weird dubstep began playing.

“You idiot, that wasn’t the right track!” Taemin said, smacking Minho on the head.
 

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who put it in there! All you said was to press play!” the tallest retorted, rubbing his head.
 

“That’s a lie, I saw you messing with it earlier,” Jinki joined in.
 

While the friends argued, and the weird dubstep resonated in the room, Jonghyun took in everything they had done for him. Any foul feelings he had felt before quickly disintegrated and was replaced by ah overwhelming happiness.

“Well, it doesn’t matter now just turn it-- Hey, Jonghyun are you okay?” The three turned their heads with concern at seeing how their friend’s nose had turned red and his bottom lip was quivering, obviously trying to hold back his sniffles and his tears.

“You did this for me? After I ignored you guys and treated you so harshly?” he said softly, looking at each one of their faces, their expressions melting into adoration and pride.

“We understand that you’re going through something, hyung,” Minho said cheerfully, pulling Jonghyun into a hug. He was immediately hugged back.

“We didn’t want to bother you, but seeing you so sad was just not something we could accept,” Jinki joined in on the hug, and finally Taemin.

“I love you guys,” Jonghyun’s whimpers were muffled by the amount of arms covering him, but he didn’t care. They all laughed and hugged him tighter before pulling away to get their party started.

Taemin put on the right playlist while the other two led Jonghyun to the snacks.

“Your mom told us you haven’t been eating right lately so we decided to add onto your bad eating with these snacks,” Minho said, making Jonghyun laugh. All his favorite chips, cookies, and sodas were lined up waiting for him. They even brought a portable stove and a pot to make ramen. The smell made his stomach grumble.

“Hurry and eat hyung, I’m hungry,” Taemin whined, respecting the rule that Jonghyun got to eat first since it was his party, but he wasn’t sure how long the younger would follow that rule.

They spent the day eating ramen and filling up on the snacks, catching up and laughing. By the end, Jonghyun felt so re-energized that he forgot all about Kibum. They were leaning against one of the walls, eating slices of cake and watching one of Taemin’s dance routines. It was a very intricate and powerful dance, showcasing his abilities while also keeping it simple. As expected, Jonghyun cheered for him the loudest when he finished.

“Wow, our Taeminnie sure has grown a lot,” he said with a laugh, causing the younger boy to retaliate in a body roll.

“It’s not Taemin anymore, hyung, it’s Taeman,” the group burst into even more laughter, leaving Jonghyun with his sides aching and his eyes fresh with happy tears.

“I don’t mean to ruin the fun, but what happened between you and Kibum? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” Minho spoke up when the laughter died down. The other two boys turned to look at Jonghyun, waiting for an answer--If he was going to give one.

With a sigh, Jonghyun put his plate down. “I guess I should start at the beginning. We’ve been pretending to be boyfriends because Kibum’s friends from America are coming to visit and they think he has a boyfriend. This whole time he’s been trying to make me act like the guy he created and all our dates were just so we can talk about it to them later. ”

"The plan was for him to pay me, but he hasn’t been paying me because he’s forgotten and so have I. Then suddenly we were at a cafe and he asked me why I needed the money, and when I told him, he got all nervous and left, and he’s been ignoring me since,” he finished with a pout, causing his friends to exchange a look of concern.

“Do you like him?” Taemin asked, and he nodded weakly. Minho rubbed his back and he was thankful for the action.

“But don’t worry about me guys,” Jonghyun said, sitting up with a sad smile. “He had told me he wanted nothing to do with me after he was done so I can’t do anything but respect his wishes. Besides, I have you guys and that’s all the excitement I need.” The trio smiled and attacked their hyung in another hug.

“...Does this mean you’ll treat us to BBQ?”

“Taemin!”