this makes 0 sense ★ onlyoneof

sixty-eight

Junhyung's co-workers always commended how well-adjusted he was to the environment. That raised his spirits and empowered him to pull through every single hour of work. And it culminated in this: Yeonjun inviting him to his house for dinner to celebrate a week of work well done. He accepted, of course, but now without asking if Jisung could join them. Junhyung taunted his younger friends under the guise that he was quickly becoming close friends with Yeonjun. However, that could be far from the truth. Junhyung was on the timid side, and though he genuinely wanted to get to know Yeonjun, he had never mustered up enough courage to do anything more than start a brief conversation with him in between breaks. He entreated that dinner-and Jisung-could lighten the atmosphere a little.

As a result, Junhyung spent his Saturday afternoon anxiously searching for nice-looking hairstyles on the internet before Taeyeob convinced him that a ponytail was just fine. He even said his hair was pretty, not that Junhyung didn't know that already. He took good care of his locks, as he had for over a year when he decided to grow it out. Kyubin complimented something entirely different- his work ethic. Junhyung blushed and humbly accepted the praise. It wasn't that he disliked it, but he wasn't sure how to respond. Kyubin's wording didn't help his case at all. In his defense, "you're hot when you work" wasn't one of Kyubin's brighter sayings.

Oddly enough, neither Sungho or Yongsoo sent him anything too lengthy. Jisung reassured him that it was just because a dinner with Yeonjun wasn't that big of a deal. Wookjin, forever one to rain on peoples' parades, insisted that it meant a great deal, because it was Yeonjun they were talking about. Jisung told Junhyung to not let his menace of a best friend affect him. They got into Jisung's car and drove away.

Junhyung stuck his head out the window, letting the numbing cold breeze mess up his hair every which way. He shut his eyes, because the glare of the streetlights made him feel dizzy and a little sick. Beside him, Jisung sang along to what Junhyung recognized to be Wookjin's first song ever posted on Soundcloud. How considerable, he thought, to memorize the lyrics and melody of your friend's song. Jisung was a good singer. His voice was powerful, sweet, and a little emotional. Junhyung let the tension in his shoulders slip away, leaving him, or something reminiscent of him, in the car seat. As they drove past fast food joints, the smell of chicken wafted into the car, making the men sigh in unison at the signature savory scent. Jisung muttered something- "don't worry" or something like that.

But his friends had it all wrong. He wasn't anxious over dinner with Yeonjun, or at least, not as much as he was anxious about his mother. Junhyung's fingers slid over his cell phone concealed in his jacket's pocket. He was disappointed because she never called him anymore. Their call from the past week was uncomfortably present in his mind and he wondered whether something went wrong while they were staying abroad. When he called his parents on his own, they gave lousy responses and excuses and hung up. It was rare that their exchanges lasted over five minutes. He was aware that they're were busier than they normally were, but so was he! That was how Junhyung concluded that his parents were hiding something from him. He just wasn't sure what it was.

"Yongsoo texted me about some place that sells ice cream but the only flavors available are soda flavors," Jisung piped up, distracting Junhyung from his thoughts. Wookjin's song was still playing, but it had been lowered so the pair could converse comfortably. "Coke-flavored ice cream. Sounds disgusting."

Junhyung opened his eyes and pulled his head back into the car. He gave Jisung a side glance before chuckling. "You think everything's disgusting. I personally think Coke-flavored ice cream deserves food of the year." Jisung's nose scrunched up and he took one hand off the steering wheel to nudge Junhyung's elbow.

"Yeonjun said the exact same thing! Why are all my friends weird?" Jisung asked with a pout.

"Maybe you're the weird one," Junhyung suggested. "Nothing wrong with that."