~~~

2:43 PM

To: Sehunnie~

good luck with your meeting later!!! i believe in you ❤

Putting his phone away, Jongin holds the bear close as he unlocks his locker and carelessly swings it open. He quickly grabs his backpack and s it, gently placing the bear inside before zipping it again and not so gently swinging it over his shoulder. All he wants to do is go home, maybe get some studying done and talk to Sehun on the phone until he falls asleep.

Jongin closes his locker and automatically feels every nerve in his body ignite like it’s been lit on fire with a flame torch when he hears footsteps coming up behind him. Footsteps that don’t belong to Sehun, that is, and the brunet clenches his jaw in fury as he turns around, ready to confront a certain redhead again, but he blinks when he’s greeted with the sight of-

“Hey,” Jongdae says lowly, in a tone Jongin doesn’t recognize, as he stares at Jongin with a certain level of uneasiness and sadness. He’s alone, much to the brunet’s relief.

Slightly looking over his shoulder, Jongin shoots Jongdae a small nod. In all honesty, he’d rather not want to see or talk to Jongdae either, but he’d much rather talk to the latter right now than anybody else. “Hey.”

Jongdae leans against the wall and watches as Jongin proceeds to brush some dirt off his shoes. “Where have you been? You missed the Lit exam.”

Jongin briefly stills and mentally punches himself because he forgot all about the Shakespeare exam they were supposed to have today. . He clears his throat and shrugs. “I’ll talk to Miss about it,” he says casually before zipping his jacket up to his chin. He turns to face Jongdae and is about to mutter a low ‘see ya’ when the latter speaks up.

“Baek’s really upset,” Jongdae says, running a hand through his hair, no hint of sarcasm or amusement in his voice at all. “He told me everything at lunch.” He stares at Jongin’s rather distant expression before pressing his lips together. “Well?”

Jongin doesn’t know if it’s the overall fatigue or red flags that pop up in his head at the mention of Baekhyun’s name that makes him do it, but he shrugs nonchalantly before brushing a lock of hair out of his face. “Bet he is.”

Jongdae sighs. “Listen, he admitted to texting Sehun, but, he crosses his heart and hopes to die that he was texting somebody else yesterday and on Tuesday. He refused to tell me who it was, but he wanted me to tell you that it wasn’t Sehun,” he says, biting his lip. Jongin hardly recognizes him without the signature feline smirk on his face.

“Cool,” Jongin says, adjusting the straps to his backpack. “I’m gonna go no-”

“No, wait,” Jongdae says, walking forward and placing a hand on Jongin’s shoulder. “Look, I think you should talk to Baek about this, it’s honestly weird as hell,” he adds and takes a step back when Jongin shrugs him off.

Jongin nearly chuckles because he’d rather hurl himself down a hundred story building than see the redhead’s face at the moment or anytime soon, for that matter. “I’d rather not,” he mumbles, making his way towards the exit, and nearly growls in irritation when Jongdae moves to stand in front of him. “What?”

“You’re being too harsh on him,” Jongdae says, blocking Jongin’s path with his arm. He sighs when the brunet rolls his eyes. “I’m serious-”

“You expect me to be nice to someone who shamelessly flirts with my boyfriend and then cries like a little when I tell him to stop?” Jongin chuckles. “Yeah, that. How about you tell him to mind his own damn business instead of coming here and attacking me,” he adds.

Jongdae bites his lip. “He told me over and over that he wasn’t flirting with him,” he says quietly and sincerely. Not that Jongin cares. “And doesn’t he have a crush on Junmyeon?” He furrows his eyebrows.

“Hell if I know,” Jongin mumbles under his breath, trying to shove Jongdae out of the way. “Please move-”

“Then how can you be so quick to accuse him?” Jongdae asks, promptly refusing to move out of the brunet’s way, much to the latter’s annoyance.

“Because,” Jongin growls, feeling himself grow hot, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, you probably haven’t since you’re nearly as clueless as Baekhyun is, but Sehun has been avoiding the out of me for the past week and it’s all because of him, I mean, haven’t you seen the way he acts when Sehun’s around? Only an idiot wouldn’t notice, he practically came in his pants when Sehun did that trick shot thingy.” He chuckles humorlessly and runs a hand through his hair at the memory. It makes him feel nauseous. “He knows I’ve had a ing crush on Sehun for four ing years, the very least he could do is back the off.”

Jongdae is silent for a long time, as if he’s choosing his words with great caution. “I have indeed noticed Sehun has been a little...different around you, and by the way, you know how Baek is. You probably don’t care, but Baek looks up to Sehun, a lot, which is probably why he acts the way he does around him. I agree that he can get a little over the top sometimes, and I agree that it can get awfully annoying, but accusing him of trying to steal Sehun from you is just wrong,” he says, leaning back against the wall. “Point is, I think it’s just his inner fanboy getting the best of him, and I don’t think you should worry.”

Jongin curses under his breath because dear God, does Jongdae run his mouth. He swallows the lump in his throat and shakes his head in disbelief. “Whatever. He needs to learn,” is all he says, avoiding Jongdae’s gaze. His head is spinning for reasons he can’t explain and he wants to bolt towards the door.

“Now here’s where I think you should listen,” Jongdae says when he’s sure Jongin is finished talking. He exhales and bites his lip. “I don’t think Baekhyun is the reason for Sehun’s strange behavior.” He looks up when Jongin doesn’t say anything and sighs when the brunet scoffs. “No, Jongin, listen-”

“So you’re kissing Baek’s , too?” Jongin mumbles. “Unbelievable, but I should’ve expected as much,” he adds, shaking his head in disbelief.

Jongdae exhales in exasperation. “Listen. I’m not kissing anybody’s , I’m just saying what I think based on what I’ve seen and heard. Okay?” He shoots the brunet, who rolls his eyes, a stern glare. “I know you’re upset and on edge, but please, listen. I think you should talk to Sehun about this whole thing, since Baek genuinely thinks you hate his guts and-” He cuts himself off when Jongin chuckles low in his throat.

“Oh, do I,” Jongin mumbles, mainly to himself.

“You don’t,” Jongdae says sternly and as a matter-of-factly. “I know you don’t.”

“I do, but please, continue,” Jongin retorts smugly, leaning against his locker.

Jongdae clenches his jaw before continuing. “Anyway, talk to Sehun.”

“I have.”

“Really?” Jongdae asks, raising an eyebrow. “Then why does your best friend think you, and I quote, despise him and never want to see his face ever again?”

Jongin chuckles low in his throat. “Well, he’s not wrong.”

“Jongin!”

“We talked about Baek’s crush on him and Sehun said he isn’t interested in Baek and I got him to stop replying to his messages,” Jongin says in frustration, throwing his hands in the air. “Can I go now, Officer?”

Jongdae is silent for a minute. “So you essentially ruined their friendship?”

“No,” Jongin squawks, ignoring the way his stomach churns at the words 'best friend'. “We talked it out! What the fu-”

“Wrong, you talked about Baekhyun,” Jongdae says sternly. “Not about how or why Sehun’s been acting so different around you in school.” He bites his lip when Jongin rolls his eyes dramatically. “There’s a ing difference, Jongin, don’t even try to deny it.”

Fighting the urge to punch a hole in the nearest wall, Jongin swallows angrily. “Whatever.”

“Talk to Sehun and get to the goddamn bottom of this already, because seeing you become so insanely hostile whenever Baek is around is seriously starting to get annoying, especially since his crush on Sehun is only a speculation, and most likely not even real,” Jongdae says sternly. “And hearing you say you hate his guts is just sickening, you know.”

Jongin growls low in his throat. He misses the happiness he felt when it was only him and Sehun, at the zoo, as they argued over what name to give his teddy bear, a giant contrast to the feeling of nausea plaguing his stomach. “Fine. When you get together with Chanyeol, I’ll make sure to be all over him whenever he’s around you and then attack and victim blame you for trying to knock some sense into me, sound good?” he asks, shooting Jongdae an overly bright grin.

“Jongin,” Jongdae says lowly, “that’s not what I’m-”

“Stay the out of this, you know nothing,” Jongin practically spits in Jongdae’s face before slamming his locker shut so forcefully the noise lingers in the air for a couple of seconds, locking it and storming down the hallway without another word.

3:59 PM

To: Sehunnie~

you’re probably in the middle of your lesson right now, but please call me tonight ❤❤

Jongin presses ‘Send’ and walks up the few steps leading to his house, slamming the key in the keyhole with a little more force than necessary before swinging the door open. There’s a rock hard feeling in the depths of his chest and a large lump in his throat. His head is filled with a strong feeling of frustration because as much as Baekhyun should learn to mind his own business, so should Jongdae, and he angrily kicks his shoes off before slamming the door shut behind him. He figures he’ll call Sehun the second the latter’s meeting ends and he smiles, already looking forward to hearing the taller’s voice.

Standing upright, Jongin heads towards the stairs to take a nap (he’s much too stressed to do any studying, that’s for sure) while cuddling his new teddy bear. He stops dead in his tracks when he looks up.

“Hey,” Jungah says, swallowing. She’s got a sullen look on her face and Jongin feels his stomach turn.

Jongin bites his lip, walking towards her slowly. “Hey." He swallows when he sees the look in her eyes. “What’s the problem? Is it Dad?”

“No, no.” Jungah quickly shakes her head. She gestures to the kitchen. “I need to tell you something.”

Feeling queasy all over again, Jongin nods before following her to the kitchen. He watches Jungah take a seat across from him and he reluctantly slides into his own chair. She is silent for a long time, which does nothing to soothe his nerves. “Uh.”

“Um, I’m technically not supposed to tell you this, but.” Jungah says, avoiding Jongin’s gaze and fidgeting a little. “But.”

Swallowing, Jongin bites his lip. There’s something about the distressed look in Jungah’s eyes that makes him want to vomit. “...What? What is it?”

“Jongin, I think Sehun might be using you."

~~~