UNDOING THE LACES OF HIS BOOTS, Jaemin wrapped the eroding threads around the foot, before putting them inside of his bauer bag. He then proceeded to fold his gloves neatly, pulling up his socks and lastly applied a good amount of gloss to his dried his lips. He looked around, the empty ice rink, bleachers all clean and spotless and the toilets seemed to hollow out. Looks like everyone else had already left, with the acceptances of his trainer and the man who looked after the front counter.

Just as he was about to get up from the bleachers, Jaemin felt his phone vibrate. He opened up his notifications and read the messages he had recieved.

Ignore time stamps.

Sighing, Jaemin stood up on his feet and walked near to the front counter. Next to the counter was the water fountain, and just like Eunji had told him, a flash drive sat near the small tap. It had a keyring dangling on the hole at the end, a small flower with his senior's name carved on its fake bronze stem. Jaemin greeted the man behind the counter a good night before striding over to the wooden shoe rack. Right as he was taking his converse from the shelf his trainer walked out of the private office nearby. Smiling, the brunet thank the young adult, before pushing the glass door, leading out of the sports centre.

Just a late night of another school day. Jaemin was supposed to be putting more effort on finding a university for this next learning life, to which up to now he still doesn't know here he would end up. With that missing it just brought him even more stress than ever, and the fact that everyone else that he knows have an idea on what they're signing up for just thicken the burden on his shoulders. It was only him. He was the only one left behind.

The fact that more insults were placed in his lockers now a days made his head even more tipped.

This time he didn't tell Renjun. And he would never dare tell Jeno.

The late night atmosphere seem to take over his nose, filling it with a smell of strong dusk and high pollution. As he walked along the side walk, his heart seem to glitch. He felt different, like not his usual self. Jaemin tried, he tried to bring his head up and watch the twilight sky, as the luminous moon that hung out with the perfectly blurred dark clouds. The stars. The millions of stars that would make themselves gleam, as they knew, if only the world was bigger they would shine even brighter.

But Jaemin couldn't. He couldn't look up.

Jeno was one of the ones that beamed the brightest out of all. And of course, he was nowhere near him. Not even the slightest.

And for sake, the world hated him. Slowly, a hideous feeling crept on his heart and spat on his insides.

"Stop it! I said don't get near me!"

A sudden scream blustered from an alley in front of him. Jaemin wanted to ignore it, but the voice. He had never heard of it before, but it was definitely a kid nearby.

"Can you leave us alone? Mingkyu is just getting hurt even more because of you! He said stay away, so stay away!"

A different voice.

"Please, j— just hear me out first—"

"Don't! We've had enough of your Jisung!"

With that one last sentence, two young lads walked out of the alley. No signs of rough violence were left on their clothing wear, even though their hair was a bit fatigued. But their faces. The taller kid had his eyebrows crossed, sinking vividly into his gaudily eyes as he held on to the other with firmness. The other boy's face was just ruined. Streaks of tears streamed down his pale cheeks as his nose seem to unstoppably leak. His hiccups was also very jolty, and he lifelessly held on, as if it was the edge of life.

Jaemin tightened the hold of his skating bag and took a few steps closer to the alley the two young boys had escaped from. There stood a teen, head all drooped down. His jean jacket hung on loosely to his feeble shoulders, almost looked like as if they were to just fall the next second. He couldn't miss the murky, forlorn atmosphere that haunted around the lad. The sight was ju