“Didn’t I told you to not come?” Minseok crossed his arms on his chest, standing in front of Suho who was rubbing his neck, “You did? I didn’t hear it.” He grinned sheepishly.

            Minseok for the nth time since the day before rolled his eyes and ready to leave. But, as expected, Suho grabbed his wrist preventing him from leaving, “Wait!” he said, “I’m here already, why don’t you just come with me?”

            “Listen!” Minseok snapped, “I don’t like attention, and coming to school with you is just a perfect way to gain attention!”

            “But, I think since Luhan and Yixing began dating, the other students are aware that we, technically, in the same group of friends.” Suho reasoning.

            “Exactly! That’s why I don’t need more attention!”

            Suho glanced to his watch, they were almost late already, “Minseok, we’re almost late now, if you don’t come with me, you’ll late for sure.”

            Minseok tapping his finger on his arm, thinking. Suho thought his reason worked, so, without further question he grabbed his hand and dragged him to his car, repeating the scene from the night before.

            Meanwhile in school, Luhan, Yixing, Kris and Jongin were sitting on the stairs, at the left side of the school building, few meters away from the main entrance, a quite place because there were not much people using it. Luhan and Jongin were head to head, watching a dance video, with Yixing sitting two stairs higher than Luhan listening to a random song from his phone and Kris sitting beside Jongin, reading his book.

            Kris was the one who saw Suho’s car entering the main gate, and was about to call him when he saw Minseok came out from the passenger seat. Instead, he hit Jongin’s back and said “Look!” as he moved higher beside Yixing to get a better view.

            Both Jongin and Luhan directed their eyes to where Kris pointing his finger at and Luhan shook Yixing’s thigh to get his attention.

            “Why Minseok came with Suho?” Jongin asked to no one in particular.

            “Maybe because Suho picked him up?” Yixing said, more like stating a fact, making the other three can only sighed in desperation.

            “That’s not the problem,” Luhan tried to explain, “Minseok doesn’t really close to Suho, if anything, Minseok always kept his distance from Suho.” Luhan fully aware that Suho was trying to get close with his friend, but however, it’s too fast, not that he was complaining.

            “With me too!” Jongin said. Actually, with Yixing too, but the said boy was just too slow to realize.

            “Not that he hates you guys, you know, he just needs time.”

            “And.....?” Yixing still didn’t get it.

            Luhan loves Yixing, really, but there are times when he feels like facepalming himself. He nudged at Jongin quietly asking him to explain.

            “Don’t you think it’s weird that Minseok who always keep a distance with us suddenly came to school with Suho?” Jongin asked Yixing.

            “Ah.....! Wait! Us? He keeps a distance with me too?”

            Luhan and Jonging gave up and back to watching the dance video from before, while Kris just patting Yixing’s head.

            When the bell rang, Luhan grabbed both his bag and Kris’ hand, but before he left for class he said to Jongin and Yixing, “Don’t talk about this at lunch break! Especially you!” He pointed at Jongin.

            Unlike Jongin who said “I know!” immediately, Yixing asked him “About what?” In which, Jongin just grabbed the back of Yixing’s collar and said, “I’ll explain later!”

==========

            “Where’s Suho?” asked Luhan as he put down his lunch tray and taking a seat beside Yixing.

            “Restroom.” Yixing answered short, smiling at Luhan and brushing the bangs from his boyfriend’s eyes.

            “Today’s lunch is really good!” Kris commented on the lunch that day, kimchi fried rice with fried egg and stir fried vegetables, plus a cup of mango pudding for the dessert.

            “Yeah, except the pudding, I don’t really like mango pudding.” Jongin said pointing at his pudding.

            “Really? That’s Minseok’s favorite! He loves mango pudding!” Luhan pointing at Minseok who threw him a don’t-give-too-much-information look.

            “Ah! You can have mine then!” Jongin pushed his pudding to Minseok.

            “No need to.” Minseok said without even lifting his face from his food.

            “He said it’s your favorite, just take it! I’m not going to eat it anyway.” Jongin insisted , and when Minseok finally lifted his face, he was greeted with a widely smiling Jongin, and finally said a small ‘Thanks!” that brought a smile to everyone on that table.

            “Sorry I’m late!” Suho finally arrived with his lunch and casually sitting in front of Minseok. Even before he started to eat his lunch, he asked the boy in front of him, “What is your plan after school?”

            Kris, Jongin, Yixing and Luhan exchanging look with each other before pretending to be busy with something else. Luhan fed Yixing with fried egg from his tray, while Jongin giving random math tutorial to Kris, but all of them quietly eavesdropping Suho and Minseok conversation. Well, at least if you can call it a conversation.

            “Work.” As usual, Minseok only giving him short answer.

==========

            Minseok shoved his hands deeper to his coat as he walking home from work, it was a usual night for him, except the familiar car and its owner who was waiting for him in front of his workplace. He ignored the presence of both the car and the boy inside it and walked passed them, only to hear someone calling out his name, making him turning on his heels.

            “What else do you want from me?” he asked.

            Suho opened the driver’s door and coming out from his car, “Uh.. nothing... Have you eat your dinner yet?” he asked, just like the previous night.

            “I did.” Minseok answered.

            Suho knew, there was no use, insisting him for a dinner, but he thought drive him to home is okay, right? “Oh.... What about me driving you home then?”

            Minseok was thinking for a moment, before saying “Ok.” Making Suho pleasantly surprised.

            On their way to his home, Minseok started a conversation, but not the kind of conversation Suho expected to be. “Did Luhan told you?” he asked.

            Suho wondering what the question was about, before realized what Minseok mean, but he decided to play dumb, “About what?”

            “Do not playing dumb with me Suho, I know you know something about me.” Minseok said without looking at him and kept starring at the road outside.

            After a long silence that felt like forever, Suho finally decided to continue the conversation, “Does it matter though?” he asked.

            “It does matter.” Minseok answered low.

            “And why does it?”

            “It does matter because I don’t like the way you being all nice to me, and it does matter because I don’t need your pity.”

            Suho then stopped his car, because he needs to get this thing straight, whatever this thing was, after taking a deep breath, preparing himself from whatever in front of him. He turned a little in his seat to face the other boy beside him, who refused to face him and just kept looking outside.

            “Me? Pitying you? What are you talking about now?”

            “Isn’t it obvious?”

            It’s scary to Suho, how Minseok managed to keep his tone flat the whole time. It seems like he has no emotion at all. On the other hand, he feels like he was going to explode with all his feelings.

            “What is so obvious?” he was trying his best to keep his voice normal, “What is so obvious to you when you never talked nor listened to me, what is so obvious to you when you never looked into my eyes every time I talked to you? What is so obvious to you when you never give me a chance? Not even once! What Minseok? What is so obvious to you?” In the end, he found himself raised his voice ever so slightly.

           Minseok finally turned his face to face him, and he realized why Minseok kept looking outside the whole time, he was fighting his tears back. And now when he finally turned his head to face him, he sent him a deadly glare, hiding something deep down those eyes.

            “It’s obvious because no one ever want me in their lives, it’s obvious because even my parents left me like this, and if no one wants me, why would you? So, obviously all of these nice things you did to me either because you are pitying me, or just want me for a while and leave me later. And whichever it is, I still hate it!”

            Minseok finally raised his voice, making Suho felt both surprised and, somehow, relieved. Two clear liquid fell down his soft cheeks, no sobbing, no sniffing, nothing.

            “Aren’t you being unfair? Because your parents left you, you think everyone else would? What about Luhan and Kris? Why is it different for me and Jongin?”

            Minseok starred at him wide eyed, thinking about a respond, because he himself wondering why. But he couldn’t think about anything, instead just more tears came out from his eyes.

            “Because you were too afraid of getting hurt, weren’t you?” Suho finally answered it for him.

            “Because you can’t take the risk of having more people in your life.” Suho smiled sadly.

            Miseok was shocked, he wasn’t ready to face the fact about him being laid blatantly before his eyes. He couldn’t say a word, because everything Suho just said were true, he couldn’t stop the tears falling from his eyes either. His eyes were blurry from the tears when he felt a pair of hands pulling him into a hug, and that was when he finally lost his entire defense and started sobbing hard.He thought he was okay, maybe he was wrong.

            Suho hugged him as tight as he could, to make him realized that he was there for him, and whispering a low, “How hurt it was? How hurt it was for you so that you became like this?” to his ear, not expecting a respond.

            When his sob slowly became a small sniff, Suho released his hug and lowered his head so both of their eyes were at the same level,

            “Listen,” he said, “Not all people are the same as your parents, they were being irresponsible, it’s true, but look, you have Luhan and Kris, Luhan spent more times with you than he did with his parents, and ever since the beginning, did he ever give up on you?”

            Minseok shook his head a little.

            “And Kris” Suho continued, “No matter how many times you called him dumb, he never leave you either, did he?”

            Minseok chuckled a little, making Suho’s heart jumped from his ribcage.

            “And me, I do like you a lot you know?”

            Minseok opened his eyes even wider if that was possible, “Why?” he asked.

            “Well, I don’t know,” Suho said as he leaned back to the driver’s door, but not breaking the eye contact, “Maybe because you’re pretty? Maybe because you’re witty? Maybe just because..” He smiled a sweet smile this time.

            Minseok was the first one who broke the eye contact and now playing with his fingers, looking adorable with flushed cheeks and red nose, “Really?” he asked.

            “Yeah, Jongin and Yixing are nice people you know? Yixing might be slow, but he could never hurt anyone, and Jongin might looks like he’s sugar high all the time, but he’s really just a kid, his life wasn’t that easy either, that’s why he was really happy to add more people to our group, he said that he can have more family. For the three of us, we only have each other, but see, we can always add more to the family isn’t it?”

            “Thanks...” was all Minseok could say.

            Suho felt his phone vibrated in his pocket, and after he read the text message, he showed it to Minseok. It was from Jongin,

            From : JJONGIN

            Hey! I won the dance competition! \o/

            I can’t wait to show you guys my trophy! And I’ll treat you all with the prize money~

            Do you think Minseok would interested with this? I hope he will ><

            Or should I treat him his favorite meals? Luhan should know about this rite?

            Why can’t he like me? :(

            I need to try harder! ‘_’

            Minseok smiled at what he saw. But inside he felt slightly guilty for pushing him away when all he wanted was just to be friend with him.

==========

            “I’ll pick you up tomorrow!” Suho said when he dropped Minseok in front of his house.

            If only he knew, the next morning, Minseok unconsciously checked himself twice in front of the mirror before he finally grabbed his bag after reading Suho’s text telling him he was outside.

            Just maybe, this all worth it.

a/n:

Finished!! I'm sad :( I don't want to be apart from them yet ;A;

comment?