Hypnic jerks. Do you know what that is? It’s that time when you sleep and suddenly step onto a staircase that was never built, so you eternally fall to abruptly wake up.

I slowly regained consciousness and sat, figuring the time. I moved to my room after the hyungs came home, when they were about to go to sleep. It was still pitch black outside. I hate it when I wake up randomly like this, it makes me unable to go back to sleep. I decided to just go outside the bedroom, expecting a wide awake Jongin. Or maybe not, because Kyungsoo hyung would definitely lock the door for the feverish child.

But my first guess was right. He turned to the creaking sound of my door and waved at me. I turned to the kitchen to take a glass of water, and he called me. “Sehun ah, come over,” Jongin patted a spot beside him. I took my glass and fulfilled the invitation.

“Why don’t you sleep?” I asked, pressing the back of my hand on his forehead. He was slightly warmer, but at least this was the closest his temperature got to normal so far.

“Why don’t you?” he asked back.

“Because I can’t.” I took the remote control and started flicking through channels, but nothing was interesting so I clicked until the channel was back to the start.

“Where’s your phone?” I asked randomly. “You haven’t been calling her for a while.”

“I know.” Jongin answered coldly. He changed the channel to some old drama rerun.

I turned my head to see Jongin. “I swear, go to sleep, Jongin. Your fever will be gone by tomorrow if you sleep now.” I sipped my glass of drink as I saw the TV air a couple hugging so sappily, then it was cut to flicks from channel to channel.

“Scoot over, Sehun. I still feel cold.”

I turned to him, too surprised to digest what he was saying. I scooted as he wished and he curled into a ball, leaning on one half of my body. He took my knee and folded it up so we would make a big human ball. “Is it okay?” he asked softly.

If anything, Jongin is the most capricious and bipolar person on earth, right after Chanyeol hyung. I could feel him close his eyes again, breathing evenly. I circled my arms around him, feeling a bit cold myself.

“Is this okay with you, Sehun?” he asked, looking up.

I shrugged slowly, and kept his head down and started his head.

I heard Jongin sigh, then he turned his head to see me. “Sehun,”

I turned my head in the mention of my name.

“I broke up.”

The small-volumed TV became so loud for our silence.

He uncurled from our cute little human ball and sat back in his original position, still hugging his knees loosely.

I looked at Jongin from the side, his eyes blankly receiving light from the TV. Streams of thoughts were running in his mind.

He dropped the remote control on the couch and hid his face in his hands, eyes reddening as soon as his face showed up again. I put a hand on his shoulder, and he looked down, trying his best not to cry. He wiped his own tears and could manage himself before he looked up to me.

As if we could understand each other, I pulled Jongin into a comforting hug. He still felt warm to me, slightly feverish. Tears absorb slowly on my shoulder. He was trying his best not to fall apart.

“Thank you,” Jongin said, pulling away. He played with my hand, still needing something to hold onto. “You’re supposed to sleep, Sehun. You should stop watching TV with me. I’m bad for you.”

I came to silence and looked through the bangs covering his face, hoping that he would lift his gaze.

We sighed. I looked to Jongin again, hopefully he was calm enough. “So, tell me. What happened?” I fixed his hair, softly, carefully.

Jongin was looking into my eyes, searching for something. “She found out.” Jongin almost whispered, eyes shaking. ”She found out about your feelings, to me.”

We came silent for a while. I was trying to find the right sentence to respond with. It was too big a piece of midnight information.

“It’s my fault then,” I whispered, wiping Jongin’s tears as he started crying, this time without holding back. “I shouldn’t have told you. I shouldn’t have met you in the first place.”

“Not really though,” he managed to make a bitter smile. “The blame’s on me.”

“For what?” I asked. “For being lovely? For being you?” I squeezed his hand lightly, and sighed. “What did Chara say?”

“She did not say anything. At least nothing about you. In a friendly sense, somehow, I think she likes you.” He searched into my eyes. “She only said that it was the best for all of us.”

I asked, hesitantly, “Do you… do you love her?”

It took a pretty long while but eventually, Jongin nodded, eyes unable to look at me on that answer. I stood up, wanting to go to the kitchen. “Where are you going?” Jongin asked.

“The kitchen. I’ll get you something,” I smiled.

In front of the cupboard, I was wondering what to make. Something soft and warm, either spiced milk, or hot chocolate.

I decided to make us spiced milk, and also brought milk biscuits to dip. I hope it would make Jongin feel better.

I poured the beverage into the mugs and put it on a tray with the biscuits. I put the tray on the table and started taking the contents. We sat folding our legs on the couch, facing each other. I handed Jongin his mug and held mine, then I put the bowl between us. “Thank you,” he said, so softly, smiling thin.

We sipped slowly, absorbing the warmth.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t offer much,” I said. “Do you want a blanket?”

Jongin laughed, making me feel a bit relieved. “Stop acting so cute, Sehun.”

“What? I’m not cute! Now let me repeat: do you want a blanket?”

“No,” Jongin shook his head, smiling a good smile.

I took a cookie and dipped it until it was soft. “You like eating it like this too, right?” He nodded. I was happy I could make him smile. “I’m getting sleepy though. I’ll go to sleep after this.”

“Don’t—“ he warned. “Just… we’ll just unfold the couch, ok?”

I weighed the option. He was lonely. His deep eyes were lonely. “…alright.”

“Yay! Thanks!” he hugged me. “Thank you Sehun,” he said. “I owe you big, big time.”

We stood up and unfolded the couch together. We sat there, opposite of each other, lying back on the arms of the couch. But I did not like sitting asleep so I moved and laid down beside Jongin’s legs. He joined me not long after. Then slowly, silently, we fell asleep.

“1, 2, 3, cheese!”

I opened my eyes slowly on the invasion of something so bright, and I discovered that it was Chanyeol hyung with a flash camera. I looked to my side to see myself tangled with Jongin, and we both shot awake. “Yah!” we yelled at the over-intimate presence of each other.

“Yah!” we yelled at the hyungs circling the couch.

“I am so going to post this on cyworld,” Chanyeol hyung said, smiling satisfied.

“Even better. It’s gonna be on our official page and SMTOWN’s facebook!”

The hyungs exploded in laughter.

“Give me that—“ Jongin pounced at Joonmyun hyung who was currently holding the camera. It turned into a tough chase. It was easy for Jongin to get hold of Joonmyun hyung, but Baekhyun hyung snatched the camera and scurried to his room to hide it.

“Yah! Open the door!” Jongin knocked furiously.

Baekhyun hyung opened the door with a grin he totally learnt from Chanyeol hyung.

“I am so gonna kill you…” Jongin squinted.

I only patted Jongin’s head sympathetically on my way to my room.

“Sehun? Why are you taking your uniform?” Joonmyun hyung asked, still recovering from laughter, as I stacked the things I was going to wear and bring.

“Oh. I promised my teacher I would come today. Should I bring my books as well? This is pretty late…”

“Probably. You won’t be going to school in a while, will you? Just pack as you would to school. I’ll let you drop by,” Joonmyun hyung decided, wiseness finally present. “I’ll go take a shower.”

Hyung took his clothes from the dresser and left me in the room. I have math, speaking skills, Korean, history, and classical theatre for today. I miss school, really. I put the necessary books in my sling bag, and went outside the room to have breakfast. The sofabed incident made Kyungsoo hyung not cook and made us eat on our own. I made my bowl of cereal, imitating the hyungs that are currently eating.

The TV was still on, now airing children’s channel, most probably because the hyungs couldn’t find anything decent, or it was just them wanting to watch Pororo while they could. I decided that it was both.

Even when watching Pororo, I could hear Joonmyun’s singing in the bathroom. He sounded so happy.

We got into the van after I finished taking a shower, and Seungwon hyung nagged at me for not telling first. Joonmyun hyung talked it out with him and calmed him down, and I still could get the original deal of being dropped at school.

“So weird of you going to school,” Jongin stated, sitting beside me in our usual place at the back of the van.

“I need to talk to Mr. Han, the old guy with a mustache. Speech teacher.”

“Oh, that one. I thought you were talking about the Flexibility teacher.”

The van stopped. “Bye hyungs, have a good time,” I said, crawling to get out. They replied my wish, then I jumped out of the van. The guards were surprised to see a student coming at ten, but eventually let me in.

It was Korean now. I knocked at my classroom door and the teacher opened the door, letting me in. they were so surprised, making those “Wooh!” sounds you often hear in variety shows.

The teacher made me go back to my seat and my friends started asking me things but we were shushed. We had lunch and history, respectively, after Korean. We packed after history class ended, because we were moving to the performing hall.

The news “Oh Sehun is back” was spreading like fire.

We waited in a line because the class using it was not done yet.

Then they came out. It was Contemporary B. People noticed me, then Hwang Chara and I noticed each other. Her stare was stone cold, far from her usual attitude.

We entered the hall and the teacher started the class. He started calling the people having roles in the script we were going to act.

“Oh Sehun, you are Tod.” The teacher called. I left my place and stood with the others having a role. Musical Elizabeth was getting so famous we were doing the non-musical adaptation this month. The original Tod, Ro Junghwan, didn’t mind me taking his place for today, at least after I asked.

I read the script and recited my parts, but never got it right. I was spacing out again.

“Switch with Ro Junghwan, please,” the teacher finally said, giving up on me. Even when I only became part of the crowd, I was still so slow, probably because I wanted school to end so I could get my business done.

It was so long before the class finally ended. I rushed to the place where the dance classes are, apologizing to my friends wanting to hang out with me. This was more important.

I fixed my bag and lifted my head, seeing Hwang Chara with her friend. She gave me a judging look.

“Chara ssi,” I called after she walked passed me. Being ignored, I jogged to her. “Chara ssi,” I grabbed her shoulder.

“Don’t touch me!” she yelled, making people turn heads for a while. Her friend turned along, not having a clue.

“I need to talk to you,” I said urgently.

She furrowed. “I don’t.”

“This matters. I don’t randomly come back to school canceling schedules for nothing.”

She scoffed. “What?”

I looked to her friend and excused us. After measuring that this distance was enough, I said, “Did you break up with Jongin?”

She was keeping the same attitude. “None of your business.”

“It’s totally my business. If I had nothing to do with it I wouldn’t put my nose into it!” I sighed, ruffling my hair. “Jongin is devastated.”

“You were the one who made him like that,” she answered.

“You left him. You did. If I were you I wouldn’t ever leave Jongin for god’s sake,” I argued.

“There you go. Go take the chance while he’s alone.” She was leaving but I grabbed her wrist. Hard.

“Let… go of me…” She grunted harshly.

I lowered my eyes to hers, sternly asking, “You still love him, don’t you?”

Her eyes shook in shock and she shook her wrist harder wanting to let go. She grunted on her freedom and ran, eyes cursing me before she did.

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Hello everyone ^^ I... um... I... the story is coming to an end. I hope you like it so far and will like it to the end, and I hope I can come up with something new very soon. Haven't been thinking of much but I was about to breed Suho with Katara at some point. Wish me good luck with my project at school, my teammates have been so washed out about it so I guess we all need some sugar push. Anewai, sorry for the rant, please love the story very much, thank you!! :* ^o^