Red String | Minsung

스물하나

The brunette glanced around the bus. He spotted Felix and Jisung. He would often watch the two of them on the bus, as creepy as it sounded. He never knew why he did it. When he observed them, they were always some of the loudest people on the bus. Though today was different. They were silent, which was a rare occurrence. He knew it was his fault. He looked away from the two, sighing. He had to fix this.

The bus pulled into the school parking lot and Minho slipped his bag back onto his shoulders. The bus stopped. He waited for the doors to open before standing up. He and the other students slowly made their way off the bus. Once he was off, he entered the school and headed down the hall. He walked to his locker with a blank expression on his face.

He quickly sorted through his things and set off for his and his friends' usual hang out area. He walked down the hall and turned around the corner. He saw his friends, and it was clear they were waiting for him. As he got closer he saw Seungmin, who looked furious. He knew what was about to happen.

"Lee Minho." Seungmin starts, jabbing his pointer finger on Minho's chest. "You've really done it this time. What is with you? I can't believe I just let you go on with this. What has he done to you that made you think that any of this was okay? I thought I would let you off the hook because you're my friend. But you know what? I don't know if I can even be friends with you after this. You've gone way too far, Minho."

Minho was about to speak but was interrupted by Hyunjin. "What's with you and defending that guy anyway? It seems that you care about him more than us. He's a little asshole. You've always sided with him when me or Minho gets into a fight with him. Why is that? That little fucker should be able to take care of himself." Hyunjin snarled. Seungmin was pissed.

"What the fuck, Hyunjin? You don't know a single thing about Jisung. You're always so petty. You wanna know why I'm defending him? It's because I see myself in him. I used to be anxious like him, to the point of anxiety attacks. But of course, you wouldn't know that. We've been friends for what, eight years? And you never once noticed. You've always been oblivious. And to think I liked you." Seungmin's voice faltered, almost breaking at the last sentence. It was clear he was holding back tears. 

"You guys need to really think about what you've done." Changbin spoke up. He comforted Seungmin. They walked away, leaving the two of them behind. Hyunjin looked hurt before putting on a mask of anger as he usually did. "That Jisung! Ugh, I hate that fucker!" He clutched his head in his hands, pulling on his hair.

"Seungmin's really just gonna side with him? He's gonna give up our years of friendship, all for that stupid bitch? Jisung is such a baby, he needs a whole group of people to help him!" Hyunjin seethed. Minho had enough. "Hyunjin, did you not listen to a word Seungmin said? Seungmin went through the same thing. You saying that about Jisung means you see Seungmin that way as well." Minho snapped.

"He didn't have those little freakouts like that squirrel did!" He retorted. "You don't know that! He could've hidden it from you! Why would he lie about that?" The older spat. Hyunjin was taken aback for a few seconds. He shook his head. "Why are you defending him, of all people? You're the one who caused all this! As if you can act like an angel all of a sudden." Hyunjin rebuked.

"Yeah, I fucked up, but at least I acknowledge that! I'm going to try to make up for what I did, because I know I fucked up." Minho established. "Why do you even hate Jisung, anyway? It seems you have no reason to. You don't even know him."

"Do I need a reason? He gets on my fucking nerves. It's clear he hates me too! Why are you all of a sudden defending him? You hate him too, and it's not like you know him either!" Hyunjin jabbed. "I'm defending him because I know that I messed up. Plus, I do know him. I've known him since we were young. In fact, we used to be friends. We stopped being friends because I fucked up. And now, I fucked up again for the same reason. That's why I have to make up for this." Minho explained.

Hyunjin was frozen in place, shocked by the new information. "You better think of a way to apologize to Seungmin. You really hurt him, you know." Minho added, before walking away. He took one last glance back at the younger. He looked conflicted. He sighed as he looked away. His friend group was falling apart and it was all his own fault.

Minho didn't notice that someone had overheard the whole conversation. It was Jeongin.

Jeongin was conflicted. It sounded like Minho was actually remorseful for what he had done, which was something he had not expected. He decided he had to talk to Seungmin. He was friends with the older, which many didn't know. Jeongin and Seungmin were childhood friends. The youngest knew where his friend was. He would always go there when he was upset. Jeongin quickly made his way to his friend.

He saw Seungmin sitting with Changbin. He sighed and approached the two. Changbin noticed him. "Jeongin?" Changbin spoke confused. Seungmin looked up, noticing the younger. He had tears streaming down his face. Jeongin knew why. "Changbin Hyung, I'm sorry, but can you go? I need to talk to Seungmin. Thank you for comforting him." The youngest asked politely. The raven-haired male looked confused but agreed. "Thank you." Jeongin sat next to Seungmin. "It's Hyunjin, isn't it?" 

Seungmin nodded. "I feel so stupid. I don't know why I ever liked him. I don't know why I still like him." Seungmin spoke in a soft voice, wiping his falling tears. "It sucks, but we can't control who we like. I'm sure he'll come around."

"You know, I overheard Hyunjin and Minho talking." Jeongin brought up. Seungmin looked at the younger. "Hyunjin was being an ass as usual, but Minho... he was defending Jisung. He said he knew he fucked up and that he's going to try and make things right. He even said that he knew Jisung as a kid and that they were friends. He said he messed up in the same way that he did now, so he knows he needs to fix things."

Seungmin looked shocked. "Wow, I... I didn't expect that." He replied. "Mhm, I was shocked too. As for Hyunjin... I don't know. I just hope he realizes he is wrong soon." Jeongin said.

"Thank you, Jeongin. For telling me this, and for always being there for me." He hugged the younger. Jeongin blushed and hugged him back. Jeongin had a secret crush on Seungmin, but he was too scared to say anything. It didn't help that Seungmin liked Hyunjin. He held his friend tight, sighing.

________________________________

Hello! What're your thoughts on this chapter?

I'm sorry that this took longer than expected! What do you think about the new information in this chapter?

I hope nothing in this chapter feels forced or rushed, I kind of zoned out while writing lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!