spilled milk ° lee seokmin

15

A few weeks had passed when Seungcheol finally returned to school, things around the campus had changed while he was out. Seungcheol bounced back between two of his friend groups, sometimes he would sit with Jun while other times were spent with Seokmin and his friends - despite it catching Seokmin off guard.

"What color were you thinking of dyeing it next?" Seungcheol asks Jihoon, the two immersed in their conversation. Seokmin was stunned at the fact that Seungcheol sits with them every now and then, this being the same Choi Seungcheol that freaked out when Mingyu took Inhyung's bread. But then again, Seokmin assumed that while Seungcheol spent time in the hospital he mellowed out, surprisingly he's much nicer now.

"Maybe back to a neutral color like brown?" Jihoon replies as he grabs a strand of his lavender hair. "I'm thinking of brown because I most likely won't get as many points taken off."

"All because your hair is purple?" Inhyung asks, perplexed.

"Inhyung, his hair is purple. Of course he'll get points taken off." Seungcheol says as he turns to face her. Annoyed with his response, Inhyung scrunches her face causing Seungcheol to shake his head in disbelief. While the two continued their antics Seokmin was in the mist of trying to figure out if they had become a couple, some of their interactions seemed friendly but others made it convincing that they were a couple. Soonyoung told him not to think much of it when Seokmin brought it up, Wonwoo doing the same. Although he had promised to back off of Inhyung, Seokmin still found it hard for him to admit he still had feelings for her.

"What took you so long?" Wonwoo muttered to Mingyu as he sat down. Mingyu had muttered a quick apology to Wonwoo, Mingyu beginning to talk about why he was late. Wonwoo's eyes went wide upon hearing this new information, Wonwoo tapping Soonyoung to tell him. Right as Soonyoung opened his mouth to speak, an unknown person had tapped Jihoon's shoulder, Jihoon immediately standing to greet the person.

"Jeonghan!" The taller boy had engulfed Jihoon in a hug, everyone's attention focused on the two. "What took you so long to transfer? I started losing hope you wouldn't."

"That's why I was late," Mingyu mumbled to Wonwoo. "I swear the amount of girls that crowded the hallways just to catch a glance at him -"

"Well he is quite handsome," Wonwoo stated. "He has that 'heartthrob anime guy' vibe to him." The two boys simply shrug as they tune back into the conversation, Jihoon immersed in a conversation with the other boy.

"It sucks you couldn't have transfer sooner." Jihoon says to him. "Oh, I want you to meet my friends." Jihoon gestures at Wonwoo and Mingyu causing their conversation to come to a halt. Wonwoo and Mingyu freeze upon hearing their names called, Wonwoo forcing a smile as he waves; Wonwoo nudging for Mingyu to do the same. The two both wave awkwardly at the flower boy which caused his stare to linger at the two prior to going back to his conversation with Jihoon. A little further into the conversation is when Jihoon pitches an idea, the others automatically agreeing. "The shop should be closing earlier today because of the holiday, but you guys can come in after closing hours for some bubble tea."

"That is, if you're parents don't mind." Jeonghan adds. Everyone nods, understanding right before they disperse into their own conversations; Seokmin couldn't help but stare and wonder why Inhyung's expression had suddenly changed.

A sense of comfort washed over him as he waited with his friends under the familiar tree, Heeyun taking her precious time as she approaches the group with Minghao trailing behind her.

"Any day now, Lee Heeyun." Soonyoung says resulting in Heeyun poking her tongue out at him.

"Oh hush, I know you still love me." She retorts, Soonyoung trying to hide his near blushing face. The group starts to head off school campus as Seokmin paces his walking so he's at the very back, the thoughts and various questions from earlier invading his mind. The walk to the bubble tea shop doesn't take long as the route is already familiar, the little bell going off as the group enters the shop. Jihoon is the first to greet them as he quickly rushes from behind the counter, Jeonghan chuckling as he follows him with a tray of bubble teas. The group head to their usual table, Mingyu being the first to greet Seungcheol and Inhyung which had caught Seokmin's attention. Jihoon happily takes a seat next to Jeonghan after he had set down the tray, a bright smile worn upon the boy's face - no one in the group had seen Jihoon this happy before.

"I had got everyone the same drinks from last time, I hope it's okay with you guys." Jihoon explained. Small talk erupts among the group as everyone is seated, Seokmin opting to listen to the conversation instead of participating in them.

Nearly an hour spent into the shop and Seokmin finds himself bored but unable to bring it up to the group and instead shifts his focus to other things within the shop. He had never noticed how homey the shop had felt until this moment, or how Jihoon's faded pink hair had accentuated the little pale pink details within the shop. Seokmin feels a smile creep into this face when he notices the little details but it was soon washed away upon looking at Inhyung. Her slightly messy hair had stood out from the others, everyone still look prim and proper - but then again a majority of his friends had put some sort of product in their hair in order to maintain it that way. But Seokmin couldn't help but continue to take in Inhyung's features, how her eyes would slightly close upon hearing a funny joke or phrase said by another, or how her hands were constantly in motion - the excitement of being engaged in a conversation fulfilling in her eyes. As Seokmin's gaze at her continued, he took in the fresh marks that adorned her wrists, Inhyung taking notice and quickly adverting her gaze from him as Seungcheol pulled her sleeves to cover them. In that moment Seokmin had to restrain himself from jumping at Seungcheol, Seokmin's anger and balled fists kept beneath the table.

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A/N: i apologize for how long it has been since the last update, i've just had major writer's block as well as me being busy.