Behind the Curtain [Seo Changbin ff]

9

Jiho POV

The rest of the guys sat down to enjoy their ice creams, not complaining about also having Hyunjin's and Chan's extra ones, chatting happily.

Jeongin came to the counter, starting a conversation about Felix and how long the Australian had been liking Chan.

- To be honest, he's been linking him ever since freshman year for what I can remember. God, he would drool every time he saw him. - I giggled, reminiscing the good old times when everything seemed to flow perfectly.

- For what I've noticed, he's been doing that to this day. - He smiled brightly, showing his true happy self.

I felt myself slowly grow attached to this new light in my life. Maybe, Jeongin was who I needed to bring some kind of normality back into my messy existence.

The group of Changbin, Minho and Jisung stood up, motioning to leave, before Changbin spoke to stop them.

- You guys go. - He said to the couple. - And Jeongin should go as well. - He turned to the younger, speaking in a low growl, almost threatening. - I'm gonna wait for Jiho to finish her shift. -

He leaned on the counter, glaring at Jeongin until he left the shop, almost whimpering in fear. Changbin knew how to get scary.

I sighed, going back to work, cleaning up the tables and finishing a couple of orders.

- Why? - I asked, staring right at him.

- Because I want to. - He squinted his eyes, reciprocating the defiant gaze.

- So you can make fun of me once more? - I turned my back to him, biting my lip to stop it from quivering, pretending to be busy on the other side of the counter.

- What if I do? - I could feel his smirk grow on his face.

- You're such an insensitive bitch, Changbin. Leave. -

I turned to him, wiping away a single tear which was falling down my cheek.

I hated crying in front of anyone, but mostly in front of him. I didn't want to show him how fragile I actually was, only giving him more things to mock me and make fun of me for.

- No. - He left the counter, going to sit at one of the tables, scrolling through social media.

I glanced at the clock: 5 more hours until the end of my shift. I sighed, going back to completing orders.

Changbin was outside, breathing in the cold air of the evening, and my shift was coming to an end. My other coworker had just entered the changing room, ready to take my place for the night shift.

I took the chance to be out of Changbin's sight to rush to change and fling out the ice cream shop from the back door.

To be honest, I felt a little bad for him. He had waited 6 hours for my shift to end, only to be stood up. But those comments, those words he had said to me stung too deep for any pity to surface high enough for me to walk back to him.

I fucking hated Seo Changbin.

An insensitive prick, only self-centered and gym-focused. Anybody who didn't respect his standards was not worth existing, and he made sure to turn their lives into a living hell.

It was the next day, at school.

- Why the fuck did you leave?! - Changbin threw his bag on his desk before rushing towards mine, angrily throwing to the floor all my books and notes.

We were alone in class.

I stood up, facing him and not backing down.

- Why the fuck did you stay? - I growled lowly, starting to pick up my stuff, which was now scattered on the floor. - You are not welcome in my life, Changbin. So leave me alone. -

I glared at him, receiving a frustrated grunt in return.

- You are a bitch, Jiho. And I'll make sure to let everyone know. -

Threats and rumors. Those were Changbin's specialties, and he never failed at them. If he wanted a rumor to spread out, it would reach the other side of town, and if he wanted you to be threatened by someone, whether it was a gang or a random student, you would be threatened.

There was no escape from his persecutions, and they would most likely last for months, if he didn't feel satisfied.

I sighed, sitting back at my desk as Felix and Seungmin walked into class. Their bright smiles left their faces as soon as they saw Changbin stand so close to me, a dark aura surrounding his figure.

- Leave her alone. - Felix growled lowly.

- For now. - Changbin walked away to his desk, sitting down and angrily fidgeting with his fingers.

- How did it go with Chan and Hyunjin yesterday? - I tried to change the topic as soon as they sat down, their smiles making a reappearance on their faces.

- Chan is so cute! He actually brought me to the park and we hung out there for a bit. We picked some flowers and talked about whatever, how he likes to sing, how much he loves Australia... He's even better than I could have ever imagined! - Felix's eyes sparked with joy with ever word he said.

Chan walked into the classroom, holding back a smile as soon as he saw Felix sitting at the back, a blush making its way on both guys' cheeks.

- Hyunjin was nice. He didn't say anything uncomfortable, but insisted way too many times on me modeling for one of his paintings. - Seungmin shrugged his shoulders.

- Would you go out with him again if he asked you to? - I questioned, Seungmin stopping to think for a good while.

- I still want him to keep his promise of not trying to fuck me, but then I think I'd say yes. He's just a bit too dramatic sometimes, but he's nice to be around. -

Felix and I nodded with a smirk, focusing on the teacher, who had started explaining the lecture.