Minho sighed, walking into his house and kicking his shoes off, his bag weighing on his shoulder as he walked further inside. He vaguely acknowledged Sulli when she called out to him before walking up to his room, slamming the door behind him and falling onto his bed with a small sigh. 

Jonghyun had told him he would swing by later, not that it was a surprise since it was almost a daily thing, but he just wanted to rest. To sleep for the rest of the day, his mind using up all the energy last night's sleep had given him. Never had he thought about something so much before, so why it was bothering him made no sense. 

Jinki, Jinki worried him. 

And it pissed him off. 

Why did he worm his way into Minho's mind and life all of a sudden, ever since that damn day they had seen each other when he went to pick up Sulli. Then things just continued to spiral out of control, to the point where he was worried about the man he hung out with! 

It was like Jonghyun to care about things like this, not him. But he couldn't shake it. There was something that had changed in the way Mr. Shen had looked at him earlier, sure he was used to the glares and the dirty looks from the older man. But there was something else, something that was akin to hatred and it made the Choi want to knock the old man out. Which was odd overall since Minho was normally a very calm guy. 

Rolling onto his stomach he buried his face in his pillow, cursing the fact that he knew there was a piece that would make it all click but he just couldn't put a finger on what it was. 

"Minho!" Sulli yelled, making him jump and look towards the door. 

"What?" He called back, standing and opening it, peeking out to see Taemin with his sister at the foot of the stairs causing a scowl to appear on his face. 

"I'm going to Taemin's, I'll be home at eight." She said, waving and running out before he could respond, leaving Taemin to follow behind her and close the door behind them both. 

The elder Choi sighed and walked down the stairs, trying to bury his previous thoughts as he reached out to lock the door and yelping when it flew open. 

"Minhooo~" Jonghyun called before stopping when he saw the other and bursting out in laughter. "Did I scare you?" He asked, raising a brow and shutting the door behind him, ignoring the glare Minho shot his way. 

"No, what are you doing here?" He asked, following Jonghyun as he bounded up the stairs to Minho's room. 

"I told you I was coming over, we're going to a mixer!" He shouted, raiding the younger man's closet and picking an outfit quickly. 

"A mixer?" He asked, picking up the shirt Jonghyun had chosen and sighing. 

"Yeah, I was invited to it and decided to bring you and Jinki." He chirped, making Minho furrow his brow and turn to him, wondering why he would invite the other to something like that. And when he got the time to invite him in the first place. 

"You got him to come?" Was all he asked, not thinking much about it. Figuring that he would just avoid the other until it was over. 

"No, but we can swing by since Sulli is there and ask him to come." He muttered, shoving his friend into the bathroom to get dressed. "I mean, you should be happy. It's a good chance to nag him about Mr.Shen." 

The other nodded to his self as he dressed, admitting that it was a good idea silently. Not to mention it would give him a chance to see how Jinki acted around people. If he made more friends than he would distance his self from the creepy man. 

Tossing open the bathroom door he walked out and grabbed his phone and wallet as Jonghyun ranted about how it would be fun and whatever else came to his mind, boring the Choi quickly. They walked down the stairs to the car, swiping Sulli's keys from the table by the entrance, giving them a perfect excuse to stop by the Lee household.

Jinki smiled wide, laughing and holding onto Taemin who cursed at the game as Sulli laughed louder behind them and clapped her hands at the fact that Taemin had lost once again. 

The pain and thoughts from earlier were gone, leaving him a smiling bundle of laughter as he played around with his brother some more before the bell rang making them frown as Taemin scrambled up to get it, escaping Jinki's grasp. 

"Hey! Tae!" Sulli yelled, laughing and standing, helping Jinki up as they followed after the other. "You can't just run off after losing!"

The older Lee just smiled and turned to the hall before stumbling a bit when he saw Minho and Jonghyun, wondering why the two were there before remembering that Sulli was over. 

"I'm answering the door." Taemin huffed, sticking out his tongue before turning back to the Jonghyun who shoved something into his hands before slipping past and walking to Jinki. 

"Hey! You're here." He said with a large smile, making the other back away a bit as Taemin shrugged and dragged Sulli back to the living room. 

"Yeah, it's my house..." Jinki countered, glancing over as Minho stepped in and closed the door a sudden feeling of uneasiness settling over him. "Um, why... are you two going out?" He asked, hoping they would leave soon so he could relax and go back to playing video games and laughing. 

"Yeah, I actually wanted to ask if you want to come!" Jonghyun chirped as Minho stood silently by the door, intimidating Jinki by just being in the room. "It's a mixer, you know, you can chat a bit and meet a few people." His eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled, only frowning when Jinki shook his head and backed away. 

"No, I don't do well with people." He mumbled, "Thank you for inviting me though."

Jonghyun pouted and Minho sighed, leaning against the wall. "Come on, you don't really have to talk." He tried to reason, tilting his head. "I just figured if you came people would get to know you better! I want to get to know you better after all."

Jinki sighed, narrowing his eyes. "Why? After three years of ignoring me, you want to be my friend?" He asked, snorting and shaking his head, allowing his self to get angry for once. "Just leave me alone. I don't need you bothering me after all this time." 

He his heel, heading for the stairs as Jonghyun grabbed his wrist, a groan escaping him as he was kept from escaping. "Just come on! It'll be fun! If you don't like it I'll leave you alone!" He said, nearly shouting making Jinki's head snap to the side as Taemin called out to him to see if he was alright.

"Ok!" He snapped, jerking away from Jonghyun. "I'll go, but you have to leave me alone afterward." He mumbled, eyes darting in Minho's direction for just a moment so they both knew he was included in the statement. "Just... let me go get dressed."

Exactly an hour later and they were at a small restaurant connected to the university, Jonghyun parking the car before getting out with Jinki and Minho. "And we're here!" He shouted happily, looking at the two who had been silent the entire ride. 

"Let's just go." Jinki sighed, brushing past him and walking towards the building, his arms crossed over his chest tightly as Minho stared at him with a frown. 

He had never seen this side of the other, and while he had never hung out with him he was sure that he would have at least heard about Jinki snapping at people or getting angry with someone since he was always so soft. It put an odd twist in his stomach as he shrugged and followed behind him, Jonghyun trotting after them both. 

The inside of the restaurant was already full of other students, most of which were female. and Jinki felt uncomfortable as soon as he stepped inside. Everyone was chatting and laughing, already in small clusters of friends, making him feel like an outsider. 

Jonghyun, however, was called over by at least seven people as soon as he stepped inside, and Minho by three or four. 

His eyes skimmed the place before focusing on a small booth in the back, and he hurried over and sat down. His shoulders were hunched and he leaned closer to the table each time someone sent him a glance as they walked by, sometimes even a glare. 

He regretted coming, even more so when he saw some teaches floating around, probably to keep an eye on the place, and he pressed back into his booth praying that Mr.Shen wasn't there. Even though a small part of him wanted the elder male to be there so he could drive Jinki home. But he could just imagine the sad disappointed look that would cross his face when he finds out that Jinki came with Jonghyun and Minho. 

"Please don't be here," he whispered, pressing his back against the wall and pulling his knees up to his chest. He pressed his head forward, closing his eyes and trying to forget that there were people around him who hated him. He breathed deeply, trying to relax before hearing a group of girls laughing and walk by muttering the words  and freak under their breath. 

His shoulders began to shake and he tried once again to relax and to ignore them, but he couldn't no matter how hard he tried. Small tears sprung to his eyes and slipped down his face.  

"Jinki?" A voice asked, making him peer up, lip trembling slightly when he saw Mr.Shen staring down at him shocked. "What are you doing here?" He asked, leaning down and trying to look Jinki in the eye before frowning when the other reached for him.

"I don't know. I just want to go home." He mumbled, sighing when the teacher helped him up and pat his back. 

"Alright, wash your face off first." He said, leading Jinki to the men's room and made sure the door was closed firmly behind them. 

The other shuffled to the sink and frowned at his reflection in the mirror before turning on the water and splashing a good amount onto his face. 

"So," Mr.Shen sighed as he walked over and leaned against the sinks. "Are you going to tell me why you're here? I'm curious."

The other hesitated before shrugging. "Jonghyun invited me." He mumbled, rubbing some water under his eye before turning to look up at the teacher. "And he said if I came he wouldn't bother me anymore." 

"Jonghyun, Minho's friend?" Mr.Shen asked, a frown on his face. 

"Well, yes," Jinki muttered, staring down at the sink. 

"So, Minho was with him?" He prodded, frown deepening when Jinki nodded. "Why would you come here with them then? Didn't we agree distance was best?"

"Yes but-" 

"But what Jinki?" The other cut him off. "The way he treats you isn't going to change, and the fact that you kissed him at the bar? Do you think that'll just go away? He only hurts you!" 

The younger male curled back, shrugging and staring at the water dripping into the sink. "I just thought it would work. Me and Minho didn't even speak." He tried to reason. 

"And? You were still with him." Mr. Shen mumbled, stepping closer to Jinki who took a step back on instinct, making the teacher frown. 

"So? I can still get over him..." he whispered. "Why do you even care so much? I never understand why you stick around of all people. Just forget it, please." 

"Why do I care?" He snapped, "I care because I've been watching how they treat you Jinki. Because you call me when you're crying. You don't go to your brother, or your mom or dad. But to me." His voice was tense, eyes narrowed. "I feel responsible you know? That I have to keep you happy! And I'm damn good at it as long as perfect mister Choi doesn't come around and make you cry!"

Jinki was shaking, his hands clutching the sink as he stared at anything but the other, trying to ignore what he was saying. To act like this wasn't happening and cursing his self for coming to this damn thing. And cursing Jonghyun for being so determined to bring him. 

"Don't you know how that makes me feel?" Mr.Shan rambled on, noticing the tears springing to Jinki's eyes but unable to stop his rant. "How it feels to watch the boy you fell in love with getting hurt over some idiot who can't get over himself?!" 

They froze at that. both of their bodies tensing before the teacher turned and hissed out a string of curses. "Just, get home safe." He forced out before exiting, leaving a shocked and crying Jinki behind him. 

Minho was watching Jinki, watching as the girls walked by and when he put his head down.

He wanted to go over and comfort the other, to tell the girls off. But how could he? Jinki would probably freak out as soon as he came close. 

And of course, Jonghyun wouldn't notice. No, he was too busy with a pair of girls who were flirting with him to notice the boy he forced to come in distress. 

So, of course, he saw when Mr.Shen appeared, and when he dragged Jinki to the bathroom. And being Minho, he followed. 

He made sure to keep a good distance until the bathroom door closed. Then he got as close as he could, something in the back of his mind telling him that something bad was going to happen. But maybe that was just the fact that he hated the teacher. 

So he listened in, eyes widening when he heard what they were saying. 

Kissed at the bar? 

"Kiss?" He whispered, pressing his ear closer. Had he kissed Jinki? Was that what Jonghyun had mentioned? 

And no one told him? Well, it wasn't surprising that Jinki didn't tell him. But he had a right to know at least!

Did he really hurt Jinki that much too? 

His eyes scanned the floor as if waiting for an answer before he jerked back when he heard footsteps approaching, leaning against the wall as the door opened.

The teacher walked out, stopping when he saw Minho and glaring before continuing to walk, tearing a hand through his hair. 

And as soon as he was out of sight Minho turned and opened the door to the bathroom, entering and letting it swing closed behind him. 

Jinki was hunched by the sink, head in his hands and muttering to his self before Minho spoke up.

"So, we kissed?"

tofubunny here~
Wahhh it ;;
I went through so many ways to get this scene done
and this was the only way that worked
I hope you at least semi-enjoyed it?
Please comment to let me know if you like it! <3
Thanks for reading!