SEQUEL TO HOLD ME
"it's only human."
those are words that stick in the minds of eight boys who have found themselves closer than ever because of a year spent at the same college.
minsung, seungin, changhyunlix... and chan :')
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
MAY 15
,
Straight to his room is where Hyunjin had gone immediately after getting home, only stopping to kick off his shoes— and also to step over the mess of other shoes, cardboard boxes, and random junk that his parents hadn't bothered to clear from the doorway. Head tipped back in frustration, he'd let out a long, guttural, exasperated sigh as he dragged his stuff upstairs, not even trying to keep quiet because there was no way he'd be heard over the ruckus in the kitchen anyway— no way his parents would hear him over the sounds of their own raised voices, firing off at each other.
All I wanted was to take the snooze of a lifetime.
Of course he'd expected this, but that didn't make it any less annoying. Carelessly, he'd thrown the array of his belongings that he'd gathered from his car into a heap on his bedroom floor (which was still just as messy as he left it), then tore through his backpack to find his earbuds, eager to stifle the pricks and jabs of each muffled shout that still managed to reach through the floor, to deliver to Hyunjin the start of a headache. He'd gotten used to some peace and quiet (or something closer to it) at college.
And then he let out his second sigh, once there was music flooding and lining his irritated ears. Relief.
He considered digging around for his toothbrush, to replace the taste of gas station food that had gone stale in his mouth with fresh mint, but as he sat down and scrubbed his face; untied his hair, he decided it wasn't worth it. All he did was tug his jeans off and turn off the light, tumbling into bed right after.
But that was all last night. Now, as Hyunjin woke with a mess of black hair in his face, it was morning. Or was it? Looking outside, through the windows with blinds he hadn't even thought to close when he got home yesterday, it looked a little more like... noon. Perhaps slightly after.
Hyunjin felt dead. Though he'd traded personal hygiene for a chance at getting to sleep faster, it hadn't done much for him. Most of the night, he'd tossed and turned, a pillow held over his head, even with the earbuds. If the music was loud enough to block out the noise from downstairs, he couldn't get to sleep.
He wasn't sure exactly when he'd finally managed to drift off, but it had to have been sometime close to sunrise. So, checking his phone now and realizing it was just after 2 PM, he'd probably gotten six hours or so of sleep in the quiet that came after his drunken parents finally went to bed themselves. How they didn't get tired of this, Hyunjin didn't know. But they'd been doing it for as long as he could remember.
Maybe they'd never change, but Hyunjin would. He didn't want to put up with it anymore. But first, he'd attend to the distracting growl of his stomach. Sluggishly, he trekked downstairs after washing the foul taste of morning breath born from last night's dinner out of his mouth and brushing through his unruly hair, pausing at the last step as he stared, upper lip curling.
