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 :')
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MAY 14
It was incredibly relieving to get into Seungmin's car again, when Jeongin had instead expected to wistfully watch it leave from his dorm room window. It was also incredibly relieving to say hello to Seungmin's parents again.
Apparently, Seungmin had already been talking to his parents about having Jeongin move in— he was most definitely already planning on it before Jeongin said a word, and his parents welcomed Jeongin as if they had been expecting him. The guest room was readied: dusted, swept, cleared of any items that had been previously stored there due to its vacancy.
Jeongin found it all so overwhelming that they had done all this for him. So the first thing that he did, after setting down his backpack and suitcase in the room— his room— was to head back downstairs and talk to Seungmin's parents about rent. Because despite what Seungmin said earlier... he wanted to pay rent.
They had already been so kind to offer him a place in their home again, so how could he not scramble to repay their kindness in any way possible? Maybe he had selfish reasons, too. Perhaps he wanted to pay more for himself than anything— just to keep from the discomfort that would surely flood him if he relied on them. Maybe he was mostly worried that he'd get used to not fending for himself; maybe he'd get comfortable not working and become dependent on them (highly unlikely, but how would he know? He'd never been in such a situation before).
To his dismay, Jeongin's attempt to negotiate an amount to pay was immediately brushed off. "Oh, no, honey. Don't worry about it," Seungmin's mother crooned, making Jeongin's cheeks heat up, placing a lingering, reassuring pat on his shoulder. Both of Seungmin's parents had taken to calling Jeongin pet names like that only a few days after they'd met him, and it still got him each time.
"Please, I—"
Seungmin bounded down the stairs then, furrowing his eyebrows at Jeongin, glancing over at his mom. "Is he trying to give you money?" She gave a meaningful, confirming chuckle, so he looked back at Jeongin. "Told you it wouldn't work."
"But..." Jeongin lost his words then, no idea how to convey what was on his mind, feeling almost ganged up on as the two of them stood in front of him, smiling caringly, feeling claustrophobic as if the walls were closing in on him. He had to do something, why wouldn't they let him?
All his life he'd always had to struggle to get enough money to survive, to buy this, to pay the lease, to purchase that— no matter how hungry or desperate a little child like him was, no one would let him in here or out of there without bills, bills, bills. And now as soon as he felt like he'd finally gotten to a place where he could handle it, where he'd gotten used to it and now had the resources to live in such a world, they swept it all out from under him and said... it's free. And it made his head spin like the washing machines he used to watch from outside the laundromat, glancing down at his dirty clothes and wishing he had enough coins in his mud-covered pocket to wash them.
