~~~

8:30 AM

What awakens Jongin isn't the sunlight seeping through the windows or the sound of plates crashing and banging downstairs. What awakens him, at exactly half past eight the following morning, is the way his fingers seem to grip at nothing; at the air and sheets, for a considerable amount of time, and after opening his eyes, he sits up and curses when he spots the bear lying face down on the floor. However, Jongin quickly gives up on trying to pick it up off the carpet when a rock hard feeling settles in and spreads across his entire chest after attempting to sit up; his back protesting in pain when he tries rolling over to his side, so he opts to stare up at the ceiling and find some comfort in how one of the stickers above him is on the verge of unsticking and falling on his face.

Despite having slept for what feels a lot like ten minutes, Jongin feels extremely rested for reasons unknown, and now that he thinks about it, he doesn't think he had any awful nightmares plague his slumber, which he's thankful for. In truth, Jongin doesn't know if it's because of the surprisingly adequate (correction; little, as usual) amount of sleep he's gotten or something he's much too tired too think about right now, but either way, he finds himself practically rolling out of bed and dragging himself towards the bathroom after picking up the first shirt and pair of pants he spots lying on the floor, all while ignoring the sharp feeling of discomfort surging through his shoulders, back and chest. 

Once he's in the bathroom, Jongin grabs onto the sink in a meek attempt at trying to keep himself upright. The tiles feel colder than usual beneath his bare feet and the bathroom feels smaller overall, and it takes Jongin a few good seconds to bring himself to even lift his head and look at himself in the mirror. 

He doesn't look too bad. In fact, Jongin thinks he looks better than usual, for whatever reason, and he does his best to bend down, as much as his aching back will allow, and turn on the sink before proceeding to splash ice cold water all over his face. After patting it dry, he wipes his hands on a towel before applying deodorant and moisturizer. He doesn't really remember what day it is, he figures it's either Thursday or Friday; he doesn't know for sure, but he assumes it isn't all that important because his first lesson starts at half past nine on both days, anyways.

Sliding his shirt, which he prays to God isn't dirty, over his head, Jongin runs a hand through his hair before stepping into his jeans and buckling the belt, clicking it into place with one hand while his other hand simultaneously works to put on his socks, which he hopes aren't absolutely filthy, either. His spine is protesting like crazy but Jongin doesn't pay it any mind and he pulls out his phone and checks the time. If he skips breakfast and is out the door in exactly ten minutes and thirty three seconds, he'll make it just before the bell rings. If he's lucky.

When Jongin finally puts his socks on, he looks at himself in the mirror again and quickly spots the familiar, pink can in the corner of his eye. The pain in his torso briefly disappears when he grabs it off the shelf and proceeds to, quite literally, drown every single strand in it, because he's pretty sure he'll be hearing Sehun telling him that he smells like a bakery again, a compliment Jongin both loves and detests at this point, but he lets it slide because it's Sehun. However that works.

Putting the spray can back, and coughing after inhaling 3/4 of the contents, Jongin checks his reflection one more time before turning on his heel and walking towards the door to fetch his backpack. Except he stops dead in his tracks before he even has a chance to get within six feet of the doorframe, because he's suddenly struck with a thought that makes him furrow his eyebrows in thought.

Didn't Sehun stay the night? Jongin thinks, scratching the back of his head when he peeks his head through the door and lets his gaze roam around his very messy, and equally empty, room. Nothing except dirty laundry, torn up homework sheets and a desk on which a ton of papers, books and binders are piled up in a way that closely resembles the darkest abyss into nothingness as far as the eye can see. Jongin only furrows his eyebrows even more because if he remembers correctly, he vaguely recalls hearing Sehun asking if he could stay the night.

Thinking Sehun must've had an early lesson to get to, Jongin brushes it off and opts to text the former something along the lines of 'good morning' (again, he has to remind himself that Sehun is, in fact, still the cheesy one between the two of them), and he pulls out his phone, which has got surprisingly low battery, and blinks in confusion when he's greeted with his calling history instead of his home screen as soon as he unlocks it. Jongin is just about to press the Home button and open up his and Sehun's text message conversation when he looks up, his confusion only skyrocketing when he sees none other than Sehun's name at the top of the screen. To be precise, a call between him and Sehun at exactly 12:40 PM last night, something that nearly makes Jongin's brain melt in confusion because how on God's green Earth could he possibly have called Sehun when Sehun was over at his house??????

The call, as Jongin notices upon closer inspection, is less than a minute long and he blinks because when he usually calls Sehun, or when Sehun calls him, their calls usually last at least an hour, no matter the situation or time. Again, Jongin dismisses it and is about to close out of the app when he suddenly feels the floor shake underneath him, causing him to drop his phone and he watches as it falls to the floor, except he doesn't actually get a chance to see it hit the floor because the next thing he knows, he's emitting a low yelp as his hands scramble to blindly grab on to the shower cord when he feels himself lose his balance and fall backwards, right into the bathtub, his head missing the edge by a mere inch.

As a matter of fact, Jongin doesn't even realize the world has stopped spinning and that the floor has stopped trembling beneath him until he feels the cold, hard porcelain under his palms, and he's momentarily relieved because if he's learned anything from the awful Science lessons at his school, it's that bathtubs are the ultimate form of protection when it comes to earthquakes, so he's not really worried. Instead, he chooses to curl up into a fetal position as he hugs his knees as close to his arms as he possibly can. His heart is pounding at a considerable rate and he barely processes the fact that his breathing seems to be a tad bit labored before he rests his forehead on his knees. He isn't feeling the floor shake anymore, but Jongin figures it's probably best to be on the safe side. At least for now.

---

1:00 PM

"...And then Yifan threatens to en stab me with his !" Kyungsoo exclaims, promptly concluding his story, before clapping and brushing his hands together. He picks up a fry and is about to stuff it in his mouth, except he ends up throwing it right in Yifan's face when the latter kicks him in the shin. " you, you ing asswipe-"

Exhaling slowly, Sehun swallows his mouthful of fries, along with the lump in his throat, while he picks up his glass. But instead of raising it to his lips and taking a sip, he ends up sighing again, more inwardly this time, and tries his best to block out Kyungsoo's voice before he has a chance to go crazy. Not that he minds Kyungsoo's voice. In fact, Sehun thinks it sounds awfully soothing, unlike the rest of his friends, except on this particular day he can't bring himself to engage in whatever nonsense Kyungsoo is saying across the table, let alone force himself to listen to the latter's voice. So, Sehun opts to hold on to his glass while staring into his food with a blank look on his face. He hasn't eaten since yesterday's lunch, and truth be told, he isn't hungry in the least, and he knows he should be worried about that considering the fact that not eating in 24 hours won't sit well with his coach in roughly ten hours when practice starts. The mere thought of his coach scolding him for not performing well, since he always does, is enough to send a chill running down Sehun's spine so he reaches out and grabs a fry, only to put it back on his tray again. He figures he'll have to deal with the consequences later.

It's not until Sehun snaps out of his trance God knows how long later that he realizes he's been silent for a considerable amount of time and, as to not raise any suspicions, he internally groans before clearing his throat and attempting a smile, hand still gripping the glass. 

"That's so you," he mumbles with a low, genuine chuckle, nodding in Yifan's direction, the latter squawking in surprise. "Did you ever find your card, by the way?" he adds, swallowing in an attempt not to zone out because he's dangerously close to doing so, he'll admit.

Kyungsoo throws his hands in the air. "Get this, he stole mine!" he hollers and Sehun nearly cowers at the loudness of his voice (as the latter says, Kyungsoo may be small but he's got the lung capacity of a blue whale). "He just barges right in while I'm frikkin changing and starts yelling at me to give him back his bus card! Not to mention he apparently didn't realize that his was hanging right out!" He rolls his eyes and shudders at the memory before punching Yifan in the arm. "Seriously dude, you're gonna give me nightmares for a whole century, in' thanks."

With a smug, not to mention unapologetic, look, Yifan shrugs before downing the rest of his milk. "Sissy," he mutters, nearly choking when Kyungsoo whacks him upside the back of the head, causing Chanyeol to nearly fall off his chair in laughter.

"For once in your sad lives, could you two grow the up and stop acting like two year-olds," Junmyeon says after growling in irritation, while resting his head on his hand in frustration. He seems to be extremely on edge for some reason, as Sehun notices, but the latter chooses not to comment on it.

"Get a sense of humor, you numbskull," Chanyeol says loudly, poking Junmyeon's sides, effectively emitting a high-pitched shriek from the latter's mouth. 

Barely managing a fake smile, Sehun bites the inside of his cheek before he subconsciously slides deeper into his seat. The side effects of not having slept a wink the previous night is starting to catch up with him because out of nowhere, a wave of fatigue washes over him and he has to tell tell himself (inwardly, of course) not to fall asleep with his face in his tray. Kyungsoo's loud voice, Chanyeol's over the top cackling and especially Junmyeon's strange hostility (now, normally Sehun wouldn't question it since "moody" is, in 99.9% of cases, Junmyeon's default mood, but Sehun would be lying if he said Junmyeon wasn't being extra sour today) is starting to get to his head and he fights the urge to run out of the cafeteria because his friend's antics, combined with the overall buzzing in the cafeteria, as well as the handful of female stares all around him is threatening to make his brain explode. In fact, he's pretty sure it does explode when Kyungsoo practically screams at the top of his lungs when Yifan suddenly dumps the former's glass of milk on his head, and Chanyeol's loud guffaws do absolutely nothing to help. 

Normally, Sehun is a tolerant person (he figures he most definitely is, considering the fact that he's somehow managed to survive three whole years with people like Junmyeon and Chanyeol as his best friends) and he would never, ever shout or blow up at his friends, particularly Kyungsoo, because Kyungsoo is (sort of) Sehun's favorite person on the team (mainly because Kyungsoo usually always minds his own business) and Sehun adores him, but today, on this particular and godforsaken day, Sehun finds himself getting irritated at every little word coming out of the shorter's lips, and he honestly doesn't know if it's the fatigue or the overall stress he's been feeling the entire week that makes him stand up and yell right in Kyungsoo's face, something he forgets as soon as the words leave his mouth, but either way, he does it before he has a chance to stop himself.

For a second, Kyungsoo (as well as everyone at the table) is dead silent, his big eyes unnaturally wide as he stares up at Sehun. His eyes are so wide, innocent and doe-looking that Sehun nearly slaps his mouth right off (but he doesn't, though, because Kyungsoo is his favorite and slapping Kyungsoo would be something Sehun would never be able to forgive himself for, ever). "...Jeez, what's with you?" 

Sehun is back in his seat less than ten seconds later. He runs a hand through his hair and bites the corner of his lip. "Sorry," he mumbles dumbly, suddenly feeling extremely foolish. In a meek attempt at trying to act casual, he picks up a fry and puts it his mouth, nearly gagging as it travels down his throat. He looks up when nobody says anything and clears his throat awkwardly when he sees Kyungsoo staring at him questioningly. "Sorry. I've uh, I haven't slept."

Kyungsoo continues to stare before he puts his hands up. "Okay," he says, although it comes out sounding more like a question than anything else, and he curses under his breath before reaching across the table and swiping both Junmyeon and Chanyeol's tissues, ignoring the latter's squawks of protest before he proceeds to wipe at his hair. "Yifan, you goddamn idiot." He looks at Sehun in the process. "Why're so tired? You're never tired."

"Uh." Sehun clears his throat, gaze fixated on the pile of fries on his tray. He can practically feel Junmyeon, Chanyeol and, even worse, Yifan's stares burning holes in his body and he swallows (on a side note, he sort of hoped Yifan would stay home from school today so he wouldn't have to talk to him, yet alone face him, because the taller's presence alone is enough to make him shiver in uncomfort). "I...don't know?" he says dumbly, slowly lifting his head when silence fills the air yet again. He inwardly screams when he spots not only Kyungsoo's confused glare, but also Yifan's knowing stare as well as Junmyeon and Chanyeol's looks of pure...knowingness???

"Sounds like a pretty ty reason to me, but okay," Kyungsoo chuckles, shrugging casually. He furrows his eyebrows when he lays his eyes on Sehun's untouched tray before him. "You haven't even touched your food," he mumbles before his lips curl upwards, and Sehun doesn't even protest when he proceeds to swap their trays. "Please don't tell me you're avoiding fries because they make you fat, by the way. You better not be, I'm just telling you."

Sehun chuckles a little. "Don't worry, I'm not," he murmurs reassuringly, although the lump in his throat only grows bigger when he spots Chanyeol, Junmyeon and Yifan's piercing gazes in his peripheral. He instinctively looks down and casually clears his throat, eyes roaming around the cafetiera as he pretends to inspect the sea of unfamiliar and flat out boring faces around him with zero interest.

"Good," Kyungsoo says with a mouthful of food, although he knits his eyebrows together after he swallows. "Why're you all so goddamn quiet? Why's everyone so fracking weird today?" he asks, eyes darting back and forth between Junmyeon, Chanyeol, Yifan and Sehun, the latter only averting his gaze. When nobody continues to say anything, he stuffs a handful of fries in his mouth before leaning in with glittering eyes. "Okay, what have I missed?" 

Yifan's eyes dart over to Sehun, who refuses to look any of them in the eyes, and if voices could speak, Yifan's voice would be yelling at Sehun repeatedly to 'ing say something, you ing fool' while slapping him silly, and Sehun only fidgets in his lap while choosing to keep his mouth shut. He already feels like he's on the verge of falling asleep and thus falling right out of his chair, and Yifan's glare certainly isn't helping matters. As a matter of fact, even Junmyeon and Chanyeol seem to be eyeing him intently, which Sehun doesn't understand at all, but no matter the reason, it's doing nothing to calm his nerves.

"Come on, don't be stupid," Kyungsoo huffs, waving a hand in front of Sehun's face. "Tell me what's going on," he adds impatiently when Junmyeon, Chanyeol and Yifan all squirm in obvious discomfort. "Guys!"

Opening his mouth to speak (to be honest, Sehun would rather shut it and keep it shut forever, but at this point he's willing to do anything to stop being ogled), Sehun shrugs. "Been having some...troubles," he says simply and in the most neutral tone he can manage, although even he doesn't think it sounds very convincing.

"Oh yeah? What kind of troubles?" Kyungsoo pries, leaning in even more. "Don't tell me it's about Nationals, is it?" He his head to the side and eyes Sehun intently, and he's about to open his mouth to continue, only to blink in confusion when Sehun squirms in his seat. "The hell is it?"

Tearing his eyes off the two people who just entered the room, Sehun attempts an interested smile while bouncing his foot up and down. His insides feel like they've been lit on fire and he prays he doesn't start sweating right here and now. "Sorry, what were you saying?" he asks, occasionally averting his gaze while hoping Kyungsoo (or anybody, for that matter) doesn't notice.

Inevitably (and unfortunately), Kyungsoo does notice, and the latter raises an eyebrow before spinning around in his seat. "...The hell are you looking at?" 

"Myeon, look!" Chanyeol says all too loudly, pointing in front of him. "It's your boyf- mmf!" His sentence ends in a mess of incoherencies when Junmyeon practically rips his mouth off.

"The hell's wrong with you all," Kyungsoo mumbles, shaking his head in disbelief after turning to face Sehun and the others again. "Can't you just tell me what's got your fanny wannies in a twist all of a sudden, 'cause it's really starting to creep me out," he huffs, crossing his arms.

When nobody says anything after a painfully long time, Yifan clears his throat. "Uh, I- Where are you going?" he asks when Sehun suddenly stands up and picks up his (or rather, Kyungsoo's) tray. 

Running a hand through his hair, and ignoring the feminine swoons erupting all across the cafeteria, Sehun shrugs. "Not feeling so good, gonna go home and get some sleep," he mumbles before nodding awkwardly. In truth, he's not exactly lying, because he most definitely is feeling death as a result of only getting thirty minutes of beauty sleep, but also because seeing, let alone having Baekhyun and Jongdae in the same room as him is enough to make him want to launch himself into deep space, and he's about to turn away when he hears Yifan's voice.

"Home?" Yifan asks, raising a bushy eyebrow. "But what about practice?" He eyes Sehun like the latter is a creature from outer space.

"We've only got three training sessions left before the 10th, you know that, so you better haul your to every single one of 'em," adds Kyungsoo.

"I know," Sehun huffs, fidgeting with the edge of the tray anxiously. He doesn't know if Jongdae and or Baekhyun can see him, they probably can, but he hopes they can't for obvious reasons. "Anyway, do your best and I'll make sure to cover for the time I missed tomorrow," he says when nobody says anything, and before he knows it, he's turning on his heel and walking straight to the trash cans. 

Dumping his leftovers into one of the trash cans, Sehun places the tray on the top before wasting no time in making his way towards the exit. His legs feel like jell-o, for various reasons, and his throat feels like it's on the brink of closing up (and Jongdae and Baekhyun's presences are doing little to help), not to mention the burning in his corneas from the lack of sleep is beginning to make him question his sanity, and he picks up his feet when he feels every single pair of, mostly, feminine, eyeballs turn to look in his direction. Sehun is briefly reminded of how Jongin rambled on and on about how he'd do anything to get people to notice and worship him, and Sehun doesn't know if he should laugh or cry.

"Sehun!"

Sehun stops dead in his tracks, and he contemplates simply darting out of the room in fear of seeing everyone staring at him, but thankfully, at least half of the people in the room have returned to their own business and he visibly relaxes before furrowing his eyebrows. The heck-

"Could you come here, please?" Sehun sees (and hears) Jongdae ask from his usual position at his and Baekhyun's table, and Sehun visibly stills.

Scratching the back of his head, Sehun suddenly feels like a dear caught in headlights and he clears his throat awkwardly. He wonders if he should ask why but he figures that would be beyond silly, so he swallows before trudging over to Baekhyun and Jongdae's table. To his relief (but mostly utter disappointment), a certain brunet is nowhere to be seen and Sehun stops a foot away from one of the chairs.

"What is it?" Sehun asks, avoiding Jongdae's gaze. When he looks up a bit, he notices Junmyeon, Kyungsoo, Yifan and Chanyeol all staring at him and he prays his knees don't give in. 

"Have you seen Jongin today?" Jongdae asks and Sehun immediately picks up on the fact that his voice isn't nearly as friendly as it usually is. 

Baekhyun takes a sip of milk. "We've been calling and calling and texting and texting but he hasn't replied," he says, and Sehun nearly cries at the maturity lacing his words (he figures he's just imagining things, but even so, he hardly recognizes the redhead's voice without its usual ring of hyperactivity and overall silliness).

Standing nailed to the floor, Sehun ignores the way his heart, stupidly enough, skips a beat upon hearing the brunet's name, and he bites his lip as he racks his brain for something to say. "I haven't," is all he says and, when it's clear that Baekhyun and Jongdae want nothing more to do with him, he nods slowly before turning on his heel, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking straight out the door, Chanyeol, Junmyeon, Yifan and Kyungsoo's piercing stares weighing him down with each step he takes.

1:08 PM

Checking behind him to make sure the coast is clear, Sehun opens his locker and steps aside to make way for the hundreds of colorful letters that fall out and onto the floor. When he bends down to scoop them all up, he catches a glimpse of the words 'CONGRATULATIONS' and 'NATIONALS' written on the same letter and knows that he won't even need to look at the other three thousand papers to know what's written on them. On a side note, he seriously hopes, for Yifan's sake, that the latter hasn't spilled the location to anybody because Sehun figures he might as well start planning his own funeral if 90% of the females at the school find out where they'll be heading in a month.

Pulling out his phone, Sehun inwardly cries when he presses the Home button and is instantly greeted with at least three hundred new messages, each one of them congratulating him for making it to Nationals so soon (which he finds odd since they've been playing for three whole years until they got to this point). Well, except for a few, which consist of the usual ' me' and 'Can you please send me your number?? <3', and he rolls his eyes in irritation as he scrolls down, clearing every single one and biting the inside of his cheek. He hates receiving messages from people, especially strangers he's never met before, but Sehun would be lying if he said he wasn't waiting for a certain person, whom most certainly isn't a stranger, to message him right this instant. He has to clench his jaw to make the feeling disappear.

Sehun stuffs the three inch thick pile of love and congratulating letters in his locker, making a mental note to throw them all away when nobody's watching first thing tomorrow, before getting out his jacket and quickly sliding it on. He shoves his phone inside one of the pockets and proceeds to slam his locker shut with a little more force than necessary. He's exhausted and his head feels like it's stuffed to the brim with cotton and all he wants to do is go home and rest, something that's proven to be all too much to ask for when he hears a familiar voice from behind him.

"Hey."

Not even bothering to turn around, Sehun lets his eyes slip shut in both irritation and fatigue. Damn it. "Hey."

Junmyeon gestures to Sehun. "Where's your sports bag?" he asks casually, although his voice is practically dripping with knowingness. "You weren't planning on going from the very beginning, were you?" he chuckles, shaking his head when Sehun doesn't say anything.

Sehun shrugs. "I woke up feeling like absolute death, what can you expect."

"I don't want you missing more training sessions, you've already missed like, three and this is your fourth one," Junmyeon says sternly. "Don't screw this over for us right before the big day, will you?" 

"I won't, don't worry," Sehun mutters, running a hand through his hair. Jeez, who's the real captain here? he thinks and blinks when Junmyeon doesn't go away. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you, like now," Junmyeon says, as straightforward as ever. He doesn't even give Sehun a chance to reply before continuing. "Listen closely. Next month, you're gonna give it your all and perform as goddamn flawlessly and effortlessly as you always freaking do, even if it means having to play with a broken heart, you hear me?"

Sehun stills. "Wha-"

"I know you're ing stressed out over Nationals, we all are; hell, I'm stressed out as a motherer on crack and I'm not even the freaking captain," Junmyeon continues and, despite, being more than two inches taller, Sehun feels like he's shrunk under the former's gaze. "But this bullcrap isn't helping anybody. Neither you, me, Yeol or Yifan and, heck, Soo, and he doesn't even in' know anything," he adds sourly before crossing his arms over his chest. Sehun shudders because man, if looks could kill.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Sehun fidgets inside his pockets. "What do you-"

"Okay, sorry if this is too straightforward or honest or whatever," Junmyeon starts, gaze softening a tad bit as he looks at Sehun, who squirms a little. "And feel free to punch me right in the nuts if I'm wrong, but." He makes sure Sehun's looking at him before he continues. "There's no in' need to hide yourself in fear of being judged."

A little taken aback by Junmyeon's surprisingly friendly eyes, it takes Sehun ten whole seconds to process the former's words and when he does, he feels his mind go blank. "Uh, excuse me-" He promptly loses his train of thought when he hears girly laughter from down the hall and his legs move of their own accord as he rushes towards the exit because the last thing he wants right now is to be bombarded with yet another five hundred poorly made 'Congratulations for making it to Nationals babe ILY!!! <33333333' letters.

---

1:11 PM

With his heart in his throat, Jongin stands glued to the floor as he looks up at the door before him. The word 'PRINCIPAL' stares back at him in big, bold letters and he takes a deep breath to calm his buzzing nerves. He doesn't know if the anxiety flowing through his veins is due to the fact that he's so nervous or the mild (correction; giant) panic attack he suffered this morning.

He doesn't remember much of it, honestly, all Jongin recalls is Jungah yelling his name over and over before he apparently snapped out of a certain trance, but then again, Jongin's mind seemed to blank out mere seconds after he stumbled backwards in shock and landed bottom first in the bathtub. To be honest, Jongin doesn't know how long he'd been sitting in there before Jungah opened the bathroom door and found him, but he figures it must've been a considerable amount of time since the first thing he heard when he "awoke", so to speak, were the words 'Jongin, your second period has started, you're late for school!. 

Quite frankly, Jongin is sort of glad he barely remembers what happened, because he's at least 100% sure the emotions he must've felt at the time would have been far too much for him to handle, and he shakes the thought off before reciting what he's going to say the moment he walks inside the room. The hallway is completely deserted, which he's thankful for because he really isn't in the mood for chatting with or seeing anybody right now. Especially not Sehun, and especially not Jongdae and or Baekhyun, or Junmyeon, Yifan or Chanyeol, for that matter. Jongin figures he'd rather throw himself off of Mount Everest than have the displeasure of accidentally walking into one of them right now.

It's a shot in the dark and he knows it, and Jongin anxiously bites his lip when he feels his heart speed up. For some reason, staring at the sign before him is enough to make him feel nervous and he forces himself to look away. Again, it's a shot in the dark and he doesn't even know if his words will be convincing enough or not (he actually curses out loud when he realizes he didn't even bring his equipment, but he hopes he won't be needing them), but he most certainly hopes they will be because if he were to get denied, Jongin is 100% sure he'll dig himself a hole in his back yard when he gets home, lie in it and never come back out again. In fact, after a while, the anxiety of just standing there, unmoving, makes Jongin contemplate turning on his heel and running home and going to bed instead, but he promptly swallows the nervosity when he hears somebody quickly approaching the hallway and, before Jongin knows it, he's reaching out, grabbing the door knob and twisting it.

1:32 PM

Jongin opens the door behind him and mutters a 'Thank you, Sir' over his shoulder before closing the door, but he can barely even hear his own words over the euphoria that's coarsing through every cell and capillary in his body. Jongin recalls how close he was to collapsing on the floor in relief when the Principal had given him a 'Yes' right off the bat, seemingly without having to think twice, much to the brunet's surprise, and Jongin can't fight back the face-splitting grin that spreads across his entire face when he thinks about it. He honestly had no idea what to expect, but one thing Jongin wasn't expecting was for it to take less than ten minutes (he honestly figured he'd be sitting there for a good three hours trying to convince the Principal). The excitement buzzing inside his brain briefly makes Jongin forget about everything and everybody else and momentarily curses himself for being such a nervous wreck in the first place.

However, it's not until Jongin takes three steps that he stops dead in his tracks, a thought hitting him out of the blue and promptly squashing the happiness inside of him. He suddenly bites his lip, the feeling of nervosity slowly creeping up on him once more, and he swallows.

Should I do it? he thinks to himself, his head starting to spin. He taps his foot impatiently, not knowing what to do. He doesn't want it to be awkward, although he figures it'll be even more awkward later on if he chickens out, so without thinking, he quickly pulls out his phone.

Phone in hand, Jongin presses his lips together. How long's it been? Three years? He doesn't even remember at this point, but definitely no less than three, and he stares at the device in his palm for what feels like forever before he finally clicks on the phone icon at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. He's about to type in the search bar when he stops himself. The thought of whether or not he's better off doing it later hits him and Jongin is just about to put his phone away when he mumbles a 'Fuck it' and begins typing. 

Jongin puts the phone to his ear after three minutes of severe hesitation, his heart threatening to leap out of his chest. Well, . Here goes nothing.

"Hello?"

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Jongin bites the inside of his cheek. He realizes he should probably have mentally rehearsed his words before pressing 'Call' but he quickly dismisses the thought. "Hey, Minseok," he says, hoping he doesn't sound too stoned. He probably does. "Uh, I just- Um, I know it's been a wh- Uh, I talked to the Pr- Nevermind. Damn it, um." He mentally curses himself for being so goddamn freaking awkward all the time before he takes a deep breath to steady his voice. "I just talked to the-  it, I, um, I rejoined the team."

~~~