Ch.3
To Whom it May Concern
The pattern of school was easy to slip into once you had a couple of weeks to adjust once more to early mornings and late night studying. The shrill squeal of Jinki's alarm invaded his groggy brain for the third time this week. It was Wednesday, only two more days and he could break from the cycle for weekend freedom. He tossed the sheets away, cold air that hung in the room shocking him awake faster then he'd like. He sat up, running his tongue over a sleep coated mouth, stale tooth paste hung on his gums from the night before. He patted at his puffy cheeks, swinging his legs over the edge of bed; a random chill overtook his body as thin sleep clothes did little to insulate the minimal body heat he had.
His feet touched down on the cold floor and he groaned at the sensation; Jinki shuffled forward, arms out stretched to brace against anything he might run into as he navigated the small room through sleep swollen sight. He passed his mother, all cheery and bright even for this hour in the hall on his way to the restroom, all he could muster was a grunt in response to her greeting. Jinki swore he never had to pee so bad in his life as he did that morning as he stood over the toliet, relief washing over him in the form of a loud groan as his bladder emptied.
Down in the living room, he huddled up on the couch, trying to will himself to stay awake. Head lolling to and frow as he attempted to focus on the news that sped past his eyes on the screen. His mother walked by, attempting to smooth out his scrappy locks that he wouldn't be bothered to brush until a good twenty minutes from now, more then likely twenty five if he thought about it honestly. She slipped away into the kitchen, finishing up breakfast for their little of a family. The scent wafting from the area doing more for Jinki's attempts to stay awake then his own will power, his stomach grumbled loudly in agreement and he felt a slight wave of nausea wash over him as the organ contracted around vacant space, wanting to be filled.
The crinkle of his father's paper in the chair next to him distracted from the sickening sensation, it russled loudly in his sensitive ears. Jinki wasn't a cranky person and hard to get up in the morning, but something was different about today. Maybe it was the dream he couldn't remember, or that it was only the middle of the week when he wished it was Saturday. Maybe he was getting sick, but he was sure he felt fine. Jinki had no more time to contemplate strange ideas as his mother called out that breakfast was ready.
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He took a slow pace this morning, enjoying the light breeze in the air and the slight overcast. He counted his steps getting lost in thought as other's whizzed past him on bikes, shirt tails flapping erratically at their backs. Gossipy girls power walked past him, heads knocked together in their shared secrets aquired so early in the morning. Maybe Jinki was just one for solitude, but he couldn't understand why everyone felt the need to be in the business of people they wouldn't even associate with normally. Whether any truth be held in the claims, more rumors spread through out one high school in a day then news was relayed on a major television station.
He'd just past a small park, only a few more minutes until he came into the large shadow of his school, when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. His froze, heavy textbook dropping from his stiff limbs and landing precariously close to his feet. The hand released him and the person attached to it came to stand in front of his stressed form; Choi Minho, guilt mixed with slight amusement read across his features as he stared down at Jinki.
" Sorry, man. I didn't think I'd scare you like that." He bent down to retrieve the fallen book that lay open between their feet.
Jinki swallowed, pushing his heart back down out of his throat, " I-It's ok. I just didn't hear you come up behind me." He took the book from Minho's grasp, clutching it tight to his chest, feeling his heart thump against the thick paper covered cardboard of the front panel. Minho came to stand beside him, waiting for Jinki to start the pace of their continued treck to school. Jinki stepped forward, continuing on with his slow pace. Their foot falls were out of sync as Minho's long strides wanted to carry him a few inches a head of Jinki no matter how much he slowed his pace.
" So, how have you been?" Minho asked after a moment.
" Pretty ok, nothing special going on. How about you?" Jinki really wished he had something exciting to say, to make himself seem cooler then he really was.
" Same, I think I'm going to try out for the soccor team once the season starts up in a couple weeks." He beamed a bit, excited at the thought of playing sports once again.
Jinki was never one for the over exersion of yourself, so once again he was left at a lose. " That's cool. I'm sure you'll make the team."
" Do you play any sports?" Minho asked, expectantly; hoping to find some common ground between the pair of them aside from school.
" Not really..." Jinki shook his head, fringe falling in his eyes.
" More of an indoor type of a guy, huh?"
" I suppose so, yeah..." He looked over at Minho, his lightly tanned skin looked so warm compared to Jinki's pale arms that clutched at his book.
" Yah! Choi Minho!" A voice called out behind them and paired stopped; they turned their eyes back to the sound. A group of boys were quickly advancing on them, the one in the center walking a few paces ahead of the rest, waving his arms unnecessarily back and forth.
Jinki watched as a wide smile spread over Minho's face, " Hey!"
" Man, the craziest thing happened last night! C'mere, I gotta tell you all about it!" The boy called out loudly even though they were at close range now, having stopped about five feet from the pair.
Minho turned towards Jinki, " I'll catch up with you later. See you at lunch, maybe?"
Jinki nodded, turning to leave as Minho jogged the short distance to the other group. Something was boiling inside of Jinki that he couldn't place, or maybe he simply couldn't take it for what it was. Jealousy. He had no reason to be jealous he told himself, he'd only seen Minho twice more after that first day. You couldn't even qualify them as being friends really...So why did he feel the need to walk faster? For fear of what might come out of him if he stayed within earshot of the chatty group behind him much longer. Jinki shook his head back and forth roughly, taking a breath to help push that feeling back into the forgotten parts of his brain. It lined up perfectly right next to the feeling of Minho's hand on his back.
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Jinki didn't really expect Minho to be waiting for him at lunch; so when the bell rang and he made his way outside with his lunch he ignored the sickening drop in his stomach when he found the little patch of grass vacant. He sat down with his lunch, taking the contents out of the bag and lined them up. He spent time rearranging the little plastic boxes, lost in thought over trivial things he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge, even to his own self.
Once they were arranged to his liking, he grabbed the one from the center and twisted off the lid, staring down at the contents of it, finding he wasn't really all that hungry after all. He replaced the lid and put the items back in the bag, he would have to remember to eat them after school so as not to make his mother fret over her cooking skills.
Jinki flopped back into the grass, staring up at the sky. It was thick with grey clouds that matched his mood perfectly even if he didn't want to acknowledge how down he really was. He picked at a blade of grass, bringing it close to his face; he attempted to loop as many small knots as he could into it before it snapped and fell apart in his hands. He had a test after this, maybe he should eat or he wouldn't be able to concentrate on it. But he just couldn't bring himself to sit back up, he felt so tired suddenly. His eyes slipped closed and he started to lull away into slumber, not even noticing as the first rain drop landed in the center of his forehead.
Someone was shaking him, he really hated being shaken awake he'd come to realize. He swung blindly at the intruding presense on his slumber, " C'mon Jinki, wake up! It's raining..."
His eyes snapped open, Minho's face at close range to his own, lips parted in a toothy grin. Small water droplets clung to the halo of hair he created around their faces. Minho pulled back hoisting Jinki up along with him; Jinki held out a hand, it was raining, nothing more then a drizzle, but still. " Oh."
" Yeah, you're quite a unique one, Jinki. I think you're the only person I've ever met who can fall asleep in the rain." Minho tugged Jinki along towards the shelter of school, Jinki's bag in his other hand.
Jinki took notice to the way Minho firmly held onto his wrist, pulling him to the cafeteria. " Sorry..." He wanted to pull his wrist away, saying he could walk on his own, but Minho dropped his wrist as they reached the doors and stepped inside.
There was a reason Jinki didn't like the cafeteria, it was too loud. So many voices richocheting off the dense walls of the room filled his head, making it hard for him to focus. Hard to part from Minho, instead of following along behind him as he weaved his way to the lunch table filled with boys that caused Minho to part from Jinki this morning. Minho sat down in the seat he'd previously been occupying, leaving Jinki to stand awkwardly to the side, no other vacant seats to be had. All the eyes at the table shifted to him, Minho looked up as well. " Go ahead and take a seat."
" There...There's no where to sit." Jinki shifted from foot to foot.
Minho looked back at the table, " Oh. Right..."
" It's ok, I should be going...."
Minho cut his escape plan short, " No, it's cool. I'll just steal a chair from another table." Before Jinki could protest, Minho reached over and jacked a chair from the next door table, shifting to the side to create a space for Jinki's chair. " There, now you can sit."
Jinki sat, crammed between Minho and the boy who called out to Minho earlier that morning. He cursed himself for making the air at the table awkward with his presense, no one saying a word now when they had been chatting happily not thirty seconds ago. Minho elbowed him in the side lightly, " Well, introduce yourself."
" Oh! Right, I'm Jinki. Lee Jinki." He flushed stupidly, looking down. He felt Minho push his thigh up against his own under the table, he didn't know what to make of the gesture but he knew better then to look back up at Minho. He almost didn't catch the resounding chorus of 'hellos' aimed back at him, or the introductions he knew he would never remember after lunch was over.
The group went back to whatever it is they were previously talking about and Jinki just sat there, never quite brave enough to chime in or completely lost on the topic all together. He sat rubbing his wrist under the table where Minho had held it. He wondered if Minho had felt his pulse increase as he dragged him up to the school, his long fingers pressed into the rapid little bump in Jinki's wrist for that short while. Jinki hoped not, he didn't even want to think about that fact himself, let alone have to explain it to someone else.
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Minho had asked him to hang back for a second after lunch was over, he casually said goodbye to the group before turning to Jinki. Jinki looked down, Minho was just staring at him, he willed away the odd flush fighting to spread over him. " What is it?"
" Are you ok?" Minho asked.
" What?" Jinki wasn't following the implications of the question.
" You barely said anything all lunch, are you ok?" Minho's misplaced concern bothered Jinki a little, after all they weren't really friends.
" Yeah, I just don't talk that much, ok. Especially not around strangers..." The statement sounded rude even before Jinki had spoke it aloud, but he couldn't take it back now.
" I'm not a stranger though, am I?" Minho looked fairly upset by Jinki's words.
Jinki shook his head, why did this have to be so complicated? " I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about your friends. Besides, we don't know each other very well either to be honest..."
" Well, what are you doing after school?"
Jinki was perplexed by the statement, " Homework?"
" Why don't you come hang out and play a game of soccer, or something, with me?" Minho pulled out his cell, and pushed it into Jinki's hand. " Give me your number, I'll text you after school."
" Alright, I guess..." Jinki punched his number into the phone and saved it under his full name, handing it back to Minho with shaky hands. It was the first time anyone had asked for his number in his whole high school career.
" Great, I'll text you! You better not have given me a fake number..." He joked and took off down the hall, leaving Jinki to stand dumbfounded.
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