Today, Kyungsoo didn’t want to risk running into Chanyeol at lunch, so as soon as class was over, Kyungsoo grabbed Jongin by the hand and lead him outside before explaining. “Hey! Let go and tell me where you’re taking me.” Jongin demanded, stopping dead in his tracks as he waited for an answer. Still a bit confused about who snatched him up, he reached out and let his fingers trace the features of the person’s face, then it clicked. “Kyungsoo, I thought we agreed to meet at the lounge today.”

Kyungsoo heaved a heavy sigh and nodded, pushing Jongin’s messy hair from his face, “We did, but I wanted to um..” He wasn’t sure what to say as an excuse, pondering for a few seconds, “I wanted to take you to the cafe down the road, they have really good boba!” Jongin only tilted his head and gave a puzzled look at the last word. “Boba. Bubble Tea. Have you never had it before?” Jongin shook his head. “You’re really missing out, you better be glad you have me to teach you this stuff.”

Jongin gave a snorted laugh and linked his arm around Kyungsoo’s, keeping him close, “I left my cane in class, so you’ll have to be my guide dog.” That he was, Kyungsoo kept their elbows linked from the moment they started walking to the time they got seated at the cafe, only letting go when he got up to order their drinks. Jongin asked for a mango coconut boba, making Kyungsoo think that coconut really does match Jongin’s personality.

Just as Kyungsoo got lost in his thoughts, the door chimed, meaning a customer had entered the cafe, “Hey, shorty,” a familiar deep voice rang in his ears and he silently cursed as he turned around to look at Chanyeol, Sehun, and Jongdae.

“What are you doing here twirp? Did you follow me?” Kyungsoo scowled at the three of them, not amused in the slightest.

“More like ‘did you follow us’” Jongdae put emphasis on the ‘us’ part, his annoying laughter to follow.

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and turned back to the counter, quickly ordering the drinks and heading back to his seat after being handed the two cups. This time, he sat in front of Jongin instead of next to him, his mood seemingly ruined within minutes of arriving at the cafe. Jongin might’ve been deafblind, but he could feel the tension in the atmosphere, “Are you upset, Kyungsoo, is it me?” his voice didn’t sound hurt, but more so understanding, and if his eyes could find the right place to gaze ever so caring, they would put off the same emotion.

Kyungsoo took Jongin’s hand in his own, but didn’t make an effort to speak to him; hoping his actions spoke for his words. He wasn’t at all upset or annoyed by Jongin and it pained him to know he thought differently, he wished he could explain that it wasn’t him, but his bully of a roommate. Telling Jongin would only hurt him if he knew the things people said about him, he thought he would never tell him and just protect him from the cruel world. All the while Kyungsoo was studying Jongin’s face as he sipped on the new beverage; laughing when he up the first tapioca ball and made a funny face, he ignored the approaching group of footsteps. “Looks like the midget found his one true love,” Chanyeol squawked as he and his friends took their seats next to Kyungsoo and Jongin; Chanyeol beside Kyungsoo, Sehun and Jongdae next to Jongin.

Kyungsoo snapped from his day dream and pulled his hand from Jongin’s, groaning with annoyance, “Won’t you drop it already?” His eyes stayed on the table, only periodically glancing up at the boy ahead of him, “What do you gain from it?”

He would soon regret even asking such a question when he heard Chanyeol’s response, “I like watching how angry you get, it’s entertaining.”  Kyungsoo was ready to speak when he saw a hand, that was not his own, grab Jongin’s. His eyes followed the motion as Sehun forced Jongin to caress his face in order to understand his words.

“Sehun, Don’t-”

He was cut off mid sentence when Sehun just gave a smirk, “You are pretty pathetic, you know?” Though the sudden teariness in Jongin’s eyes were obvious, he didn’t stop, “Only a retard like you would mooch off the smartest kid in school.” Kyungsoo watched, enraged by those words, standing up with his hand drawn back, ready to land a hard slap on the man’s face, that was if Jongin hadn’t beat him to it. The sound of flesh against flesh echoed through the small room, catching everyone off guard.

Without a word, Jongin stood from his seat and slowly but surely made his way to the front door of the cafe, clicking the button on his pager since Baekhyun was his only contact listed. He followed the wall until he stumbled into the next shop on the strip, asking to borrow their phone, repeating himself a few times until he felt the device in his hands, calling the dorm telephone in hopes of Baekhyun being home.

“What is wrong with you?” Kyungsoo barked through gritted teeth at Sehun, soon turning to Chanyeol, “You’re lucky I want to keep my record clean, pig.” As fast as he can, he gathered up his things, along with Jongin’s bag and drink, and walked out of the little coffee shop. He wandered up and down the sidewalk looking for the impaired male, asking random people for any leads, only receiving one about a strange looking man who walked into a bouquet demanding a telephone. Kyungsoo’s heart nearly stopped beating as he took up on the clue, making his way into the said shop, only to see Jongin crying hysterically with four policemen surrounding him; all scratching their heads about how to handle the situation. Kyungsoo hadn’t realized that his legs moved on their own and had him sprinting into the store  until he was being held back by one of the officers.

“Sir, unless you know him, I’m going to have to ask you to stand back. Sir?”

Kyungsoo blinked himself back to reality and he pleaded profusely to be let by, “My name is Kyungsoo, That’s my friend! His name is Jongin.” He moved to push passed when he was stopped again.

“Alright, Kyungsoo.. Why is Jongin here crying and unresponsive? We’ve been trying to get him to talk for a while now and-”

“Are you dumb?” He knew he was letting his emotions speak, but he needed to get to Jongin, “He’s deaf and blind! He can’t hear you or me for God’s sake! Now let me through.” With that, Kyungsoo pushed passed the officer and darted toward Jongin, just about throwing himself onto the floor next to the crying boy. He took ahold of both of Jongin’s hands and held them on either of his cheeks, feeling tears start to sting at his own eyes as he spoke sweetly, “Jongin, hey Jongin sweetie.. Stop crying, hm?” Jongin blubbed something through his cries, but to no avail. “Breathe, Jongin. I can’t understand you.” That was it. The first time Kyungsoo couldn’t manage to comprehend the words that came from Jongin, he felt his stomach turn and drop with guilt, his mind running over the mumbled words again and again.

“We have someone by the name of Byun Baekhyun on the phone asking about erm.. Jongin.” Baekhyun was a hollering mess on the other line, shouting questions about ‘is he okay’ and ‘who’s he with’,  so loud that his yelling could be heard even feet away from the phone. “Sir, do you know this Baekhyun?” Kyungsoo shook his head.