spilled milk ° lee seokmin

10

Panicked thoughts rushed through his mind as Seokmin paced back and forth in front of the school's infirmary, Seokmin trying to keep an open mind about the situation.

"Excuse me," Seokmin blurted as the nurse walked down the hallway, her attention caught off guard by Seokmin's sudden actions. "Is Yu Inhyung in there?" The nurse shook her head in confirmation, still confused at the whole situation. "Am I allowed to go inside and give this to her?" He directs the conversation to the bouquet of flowers in hand. Deep down he thanks Mingyu for sneaking out during their previous period to quickly buy a bouquet of flowers at a nearby shop. The nurse looks hesitant at first but allows it, maybe it was the desperation in Seokmin's eyes or the fact that she didn't want to deal with him so early on in the school day. Seokmin thanks her as he walks into the infirmary, he peeks his head past the dividing curtain, only to see another nurse aiding Inhyung. He excuses himself for his abrupt entrance, the nurse wrapping up on checking Inhyung prior to leaving the two alone. A worried look washes over him as he watches her at rest, instinctively he places the flowers at the bedside table.

It must've been the amount of movement that woke her, her eyes adverted to him.

"You're here?" Seokmin looks over at her, his movements halted. Seokmin freezes as she stares at him, a sudden lump forming in his throat. He scans over her physical appearance, face and lips pale as her voice is small and slightly coarse. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I should," He replies as he walks to the foot of her bed to provide a greater distance. "But I skipped to make sure you were fine, are you?" Her eyes refuse to meet his as she looks around the room for somethings else to keep her company, Seokmin letting out a long sigh. "Inhyung-ssi -"

"These are nice flowers, did you bring them?" Patience slowly starts to diminish as she changed topic, Seokmin closing his eyes in annoyance. He watches as she reaches for the flowers, small bruises adorning her arm. Seokmin goes over to her side as he grabs her arm to inspect it, Inhyung hissing at the sudden contact. "Inhyung -"

"Please don't tell," She mutters, tears starting to form in her eyes. Little blotches of red adorn her wrist, signifying the bruises were recent. "I can't have this found out." Seokmin sits on the bed, his back facing her.

"Why?" He looks at her, tears forming in his own eyes, Inhyung staring in disbelief. "Why would you throw away the life you made for yourself?" Silence takes up the space in between them, Inhyung staring at her wrists as Seokmin continues to look at her. "Why tarnish the legacy you created?"

"Because everything is not perfect!" She exclaims as tears roll down her cheeks. "Everyone sees me as someone who lives a perfectly fine life, but no one has ever questioned if that was the actual case. It hasn't ever occurred to anyone that I could just be smiling on the outside just to keep the attention off of me when in reality I'm dying." Seokmin reflects on his uproar when he watches her fragile state, her head held in her hands as continues to cry. Seokmin moves her hands from her face as he wipes her tears away with his thumb, her nose a light shade of red from all the crying.

"Your secret is safe with me." Seokmin brings her wrist to his lips, his lips pressing light kisses against the bruises. He's surprised when she doesn't pull back at his actions or the fact that he pulled such a bold move. The room becomes silent again as Seokmin's lips ghost over the bruises, his eyes focused on Inhyung. The sound of a dropped object pulls their attention away from each other, a boy's silhouette left rushing out of the room. Seokmin's takes this as his cue to leave, he says his goodbyes to Inhyung before exiting the infirmary. He looks around the hallway for the boy who rushed out, an angered Seungcheol walking towards him. Without warning, Seungcheol grabs Seokmin by the collar and hoists him up, Seokmin trying to free himself from Seungcheol's grip.

"Seungcheol," Seokmin musters as he's lifted in the air, helplessly. "Put me down and let's talk rationally." Seungcheol does as follow and sets Seokmin down, Seokmin brushing himself off before addressing Seungcheol. "I know you're probably mad, but hear me out what you saw -"

"How could you?" Seungcheol asked, pity coaxing his voice. Tears started to clump together at the bridge of his nose, his nose a light shade of red caused by all the crying.

"Look I just want to clear things up by saying -"

"Was it not clear to you?" Seungcheol cuts him off, Seokmin deciding it was best to let him speak. Seokmin remains quiet as Seungcheol takes the opportunity to continue. "Seokmin don't do this, please just back off from Inhyung alright? She makes me happy, and I don't want her taken away from me. Please." Seokmin is a mixture of shock and surprise when he hears Seungcheol's statement, this is the first he's ever heard him beg and plea with such a calm composure. Seokmin obliges and decides not to meddle, he knows Seungcheol will surely kill him if he tries something else. Seokmin nods in agreement to Seungcheol, a relieved look washing over Seungcheol's face. "Thank you." Seungcheol walks away happily as Seokmin is left alone in the hallway contemplating if his feelings for Inhyung still exist.

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A/N: i don't know how i feel about this chapter, am i rushing things? on a side note, ooOOH Seungcheol.