five.
계층: Hierarchy Matterschapterfive.
Weekends always meant it’s time to relax so Sumin immediately called up the girls of Cheonsa - only to end up meeting with Hyerim and Sojin. They were walking around a mall near Sumin’s house and shopping leisurely until Sumin pulled them into a guys’ clothes store. Hyerim and Sojin exchanged glances and rolled their eyes as they walked in.
“Hey, that’s nice.”
“You’re still with him?” Hyerim raised an eyebrow at Sumin.
“Of course. Anything wrong about that?” she absent-mindedly replied as she browsed through the clothes “Hmm or maybe this...”
“Well for one --” Sojin nudged Hyerim and shook her head furiously, indicating her to stop. “No. No, nothing wrong.” Hyerim simply said. Out of nowhere, an arm slings around Sumin’s waist.
“Shopping for me?” Myungsoo smirked.
“No, I’m at a guys’ store shopping for myself.” Sumin replied sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and nonchalantly greeted the other girls - slightly colder towards Hyerim. Hyerim simply rolled her eyes in response and looked away. After Sumin paid for the clothes, they bid the girls goodbye and went off hand in hand.
~*~*~*~*~
As soon as Myungsoo entered Sumin’s apartment, he jumped onto the couch and laid stiff like a log. Locking the door, Sumin threw her keys into a glass bowl at the counter and shook Myungsoo, telling him to rest in her room. He nodded sleepily and dragged himself to her room, plopping onto her bed. He sighed in comfort as his body sank into the soft mattress, surrounded by pillows and a few soft toys. He grinned when he recognised one that he bought for her - a blueish-grey medium-sized dolphin. When he heard footsteps approaching, he quickly shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep. Sumin smiled as she walk in. He must be really tired. She thought as she sat beside Myungsoo and his soft hair, before placing a soft kiss on his forehead. Seizing the chance, Myungsoo pulled her to his side and hugged her tightly, refusing to let go.
“Hey let go you idiot, I can’t breathe!” she exclaimed, her words getting muffled against his chest.
“You know you love me.” he smirked as she stopped struggling.
“No I hate you with a burning passion.” she said in a teasing manner, looking up to see Myungsoo’s reaction.
“Well, now you don’t.” he stated matter-of-factly as he pecked her lips tenderly and held her close. They stayed that way for a few minutes, Myungsoo slowly drifting off until Sumin tried to gently release herself from his grip.
“Trying to escape?” he chuckled with his eyes still closed.
“Oppa, I need to do my work...” she said sheepishly. Myungsoo sighed and let go as Sumin got up and walked to her desk. As much as he wished she could cuddle him to sleep, he doesn’t want to be the reason for her grades dropping. Unable to go back to sleep, he sat beside her and observed her every move, noticing how she bit her lip in concentration or pouted when she was stuck at a question. He smiled slightly as he gingerly reached out and tuck a few strands of hair behind her ears. She looked up and returned his smile, leaning in to peck his lips before returning to her work. A moment later, her phone vibrated, startling the both of them. They saw the display screen at the same time - ‘Eden’ was flashing on the screen. Sumin looked at Myungsoo for a split second before averting her gaze as she reached for the phone, but not before Myungsoo swiftly snatched her phone and answered it for her.
“Hey!” she exclaimed. Myungsoo pushed a finger to her lips, signalling her to stay silent.
“Erm, Sumin? Hey. I was just wondering if -” Eden started.
“No, there’s no need to wonder. The answer is no. Goodbye and have a nice - oh wait no, have a bad day.” Myungsoo drawled lazily before hanging up the phone. He turned to Sumin only to receive a glare from her.
“What?” he asked innocently.
“That was my phone call.” she said sternly, as if reprimanding a child.
“Well yeah, I was answering it for you.”
“No, you -”
“Oh come on, it was Eden! You can’t expect me to sit here and watch you have a conversation with him right in front of my face.” Myungsoo argued childishly. Sighing in defeat, Sumin simply snatched her phone back, placing it further from Myungsoo. He frowned when he saw what she did and was about to complain when she pecked his lips.
“Go to sleep, you’re tired.” she ruffled his hair and smiled. Yawning, Myungsoo nodded and hugged her from the back before jumping onto her bed and drifting off - only thinking of Sumin.
~*~*~*~*~
The pan sizzled as Kimbum placed a few slices of black pork belly on it - one of Jeju’s specialties. Mingyu his lips, impatiently waiting for the meat to be cooked and ready to devour it anytime. The two brothers were spending two days together at Jeju, simply spending their time together and catching up. After a long day spent at the beach, they decided to take a break at the black pork belly restaurant nearby. As soon as the meat was grilled to perfection, Kimbum placed a few on Mingyu’s plate, seeing his face light up at the sight of food on his plate. He chuckled as Mingyu wolfed down his food, glad to see that his brother was eating well.
“So… Found anyone you like recently?” Kimbum casually asked Mingyu, a cheeky grin plastered to his face.
“Hyung!!” Mingyu cried, a light blush slowly creeping up his cheeks.
“Alright, alright, I’ll take it that there’s none then.” Kimbum chuckled and shook his head. “How’s school then?”
“It’s okay, I guess. ” Mingyu shrugged and replied nonchalantly. “I did really well for my exams though!” he beamed proudly, delighted that his efforts paid off.
“That’s good to hear, I’d be really worried if you weren’t doing well.” Kimbum ruffled his brother’s hair lovingly.
“Speaking of worried…” Mingyu trailed off mid-sentence, frowning. “No, nevermind, it’s nothing.”
“What, what is it? Speak your mind, is anything wrong?” Kimbum asked, concerned.
“It’s just… I miss spending time with Jongin hyung too.” Mingyu admitted gloomily. “It’s been a long time since he spent time with me, he hardly even checks on me. I mean, even you’re taking time off to spend time with me now!” he exclaimed, slightly agitated. “I wish the four of us could just spend time together…” he mumbled, looking away forlornly. The moment Mingyu told Kimbum about how he felt, Kimbum felt his heart drop with a pang. He never knew that Mingyu felt that way. Sure, he tries his best to talk to Mingyu and bond with him whenever he has the time (which he hardly does) but it slipped off his mind how Jongin and Mingyu used to be so inseparable. Now, they don’t even talk much and Kimbum feels as though it’s mostly his fault for entrusting heaps of work to Jongin. With thoughts of making Mingyu feel less neglected, he made a firm decision.
“Mingyu-ah, how about this? Hyung will lessen Jongin’s workload and tell him to take a break and spend more time with you. How does that sound?” he asked, peering into Mingyu’s eyes to see his reaction. Mingyu immediately shot his head up, his eyes glistening with hope.
“Really hyung?! You’d do that for me? Won’t your work be affected?”
“Of course, I’m your brother, why wouldn’t I?” he winked and ruffled Mingyu’s hair. “Don’t worry, I can handle it well, just promise me you’ll spend the time well.”
“Of course, of course I will hyung, thank you so much, you’re the best!” Mingyu exclaimed before crushing Kimbum with a bear hug. He was beyond ecstatic. Finally, he thought, finally I can experience the good old days again.
~*~*~*~*~
Evening the next day, just like Jongin promised Suzy, he went to fetch Suzy from where she was. With that, they drove in comfortable silence which none of them had question why. With the radio on, Suzy occasionally sang along to the songs that she knew. At times where she knows Jongin isn’t looking – not that he ever was – she would look at him to take in just how tired Jongin looked.
Suzy never complained about Jongin’s busy life, because he would still take the time to call, text or see her. On the other hand, it wasn’t like Suzy wasn’t busy at all, she was in university majoring in languages. However she never complained – they never complained.
For a long time, Suzy had always wanted to pour her heart out to Jongin, to tell him exactly what she feels. However she (or he) never had the time, or courage to do that. Suzy has always seen Jongin as her happiness, her strength and her everything. Sure Jongin has his flaws, and she never overlooked them, but that’s what she counts on. The little things that Jongin lacks is what makes him him. She doesn’t like the way Jongin eats, the way he sleeps or even sometimes the way he speaks. But she knew well that that’s just how he is. Suzy has seen every side of Jongin – his bright side, his evil side, and even the side where he just can’t hold in his thoughts anymore. She, however, on the other hand – was probably stronger than Jongin ever was.
“We’re here,” Jongin gave a small smile while turning off the engine right after he parked his car. As soon as she got out of the car, Jongin was already unlocking the house door – ready to let Suzy in. He went in first to ensure that no one was at home.
It wasn’t like the brothers did not approve of Suzy, but Jongin knew that Myungsoo was in the same grade as Suzy and didn’t want her to divert her attention to Myungsoo instead. On the other hand, Kimbum does approve of Suzy, however he did not really like the fact that Jongin was going to spend mostly all of his free time with a girl.
The minute Suzy entered, Jongin was already in his room. Suzy sighed as she knew that Jongin was probably tired. Knowing that she was familiar with the house, she didn’t have to think twice before entering the room he was in. “Tired?” she whispered calmly, looking around the room for any changes from the last time she came.
She smiled when she noticed that he and Mingyu were still using the bunk beds. Sitting beside Jongin, she wrapped her arms around his waist as she continued scanning the walls in the room. She sighed when she saw Jongin’s working desk filled with notes and files. She stood up again and walked closer to the wall to see a what was once a picture of all four brothers together. The picture that she remembered hanging there was now replaced by little pictures of him and Mingyu at different occasions.
Suzy recognized one though – a picture of her, Jongin and Mingyu together at her sister’s wedding. Suzy sighed and walked back towards Jongin who smiled and grabbed her hand. He pulled her lightly, making her sit beside him again. That was when he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers; begging for a kiss. Slowly but steadily, she leaned backwards so that Jongin was above her. They kissed and stayed in that position for quite some time – things getting slightly more heated everytime.
Just that moment when they were about to continue, the door suddenly opened. “Jongin-ah are you ho– Kim Jongin!!!” someone shouted, causing Suzy to be startled and pushing Jongin away. Jongin flinched slightly, in shock, getting up quickly after clearly recognizing the voice.
“U-umma.. I-I’ll be out in a minute..” Jongin trembled slightly, not daring to turn around with his buttons undone. And as soon as he heard the door slammed close, he leaned in closer to Suzy only to get pushed away lightly.
“S-stop..go explain to your umma..” Suzy mumbled, obviously slightly more afraid than Jongin was. She wasn’t afraid of what consequence she will face. But rather, she was afraid of what Jongin would face. “We’ll...do this some other time.”
With that, Jongin sighed and buttoned his shirt again before leaving the room to talk to his mother. As soon as he left, his mother was waiting impatiently at the living room. She stood up and walked towards Jongin with her arms folded. She tugged on Jongin’s untucked shirt and exclaimed, “What are you doing, Kim Jongin?! Did I raise you to be this cheap?”
Jongin flinched slightly, keeping his head down – afraid Suzy would hear anything. “Umma, that’s my girlfriend.. Don’t talk like that. Especially with her here,” he tried not to sound rude.
“Girlfriend? If you continue that you’d have to marry her you-”
“Umma stop!” he groaned frustratingly. “She’s an amazing and nice girl okay. And that was my fault. I’ll send her off, and then you can do whatever you want to me later on.”
“Kim Jongin, I thought you to follow your hyung’s footsteps and-”
“UMMA!” he rubbed his face, trying not to create a sudden outburst. “Can you stop telling me to follow hyung’s footsteps if you don’t even know if he’s doing the exact same thing as me, or maybe worse?!”
Just that one sentence was enough for Jongin’s mother to set her hands flying accross his cheeks. “You send her home, we’ll talk later,” she warned, deadly stern.
~*~*~*~*~
In the car, Suzy and Jongin barely spoke. Of course Suzy was embarrassed but the reason that they weren’t talking was mostly because Jongin was in tears. He didn’t take a single glance on Suzy, making her feel very worried. She knew the thoughts Jongin was capable of whenever things like these happen. In fact, the only thing and decision she doesn’t want him to take is the decision to leave her.
She doesn’t want to imagine a life without him. She doesn’t want to go to her daily lectures, not touching her phone, or not getting distracted by Jongin and thoughts of him. She knew all too well, though, that Jongin was about to get grounded despite his need to work – they (his parents) had the right to tell him not to.
When they reached their destination, she managed to drag Jongin inside her apartment. He didn’t have the strength to question. So instead, Suzy took over – closing the door behind her, she pushed Jongin against it and started kissing him slightly rough. Startled, he didn’t know how to react at first. However, after a while, he came back to his senses and reacted just how he always did.
Suzy didn’t mean that to be a goodbye kiss – or whatever it turned out to be in the end. As for Jongin, he thought differently. He knew that this was a way she was saying goodbye. Even though, that was partially why she built up the courage to do whatever she did. At the taste of her lips, Jongin’s mind was driving himself crazy. He felt like he was lost in somewhere he was really unfamiliar with. Accompanying that, he felt like he had suddenly lost his sanity. He felt like he was going to break down.
He felt like he could no longer take it anymore.
His workload, his responsibility, his brothers, his love, his time and his parents – he feels like he’s getting detached from everything. He feels like he can never do it anymore. It wasn’t that he broke apart because of this – but rather, he lost the last reason why he shouldn’t.
They continued from wherever the last stopped, with Jongin’s mind empty – signifying the start of his fallouts. Suzy saw this, and that’s why she wasn’t planning to stop. She hoped that although impossible, she hoped that Jongin would be able to find himself later on.
“Help me,” he muttered, taking his last breath of sanity.
Words: 2703.
Author's Notes:
From N: So here's another chapter ouo; Hope you liked it (especially with how this ends ;) We're having a sliiiight problem with Chapter 6 but we'll solve it real soon and then post it up, don't worry! As usual, comment, subscribe. o/
From N: So here's another chapter ouo; Hope you liked it (especially with how this ends ;) We're having a sliiiight problem with Chapter 6 but we'll solve it real soon and then post it up, don't worry! As usual, comment, subscribe. o/
From J:
Helloooo, it's the first time I'm writing an author's note so yeah, hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! It'd be nice to receive some feedback!
I'll be creating an account soon so I'll appreciate your support once I start writing, cheers! :) *waves*
Love from Us \o
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