Hate | Nosung

21

As hard as he might try, it was very difficult for Jeno to stick the 'jealousy' label on Jisung.

After lunch, the conversation he had with Mark and Yukhei was floating idly in his head when he sat silently during class. As he snuck a glance at Jisung, he wondered. Am I Jealous? I'm not feeling jealous. Am I?

Miraculously, every time he and Jisung had even the slightest bit of interaction, these thoughts disappeared from his mind as if they never existed to begin with. Whenever Jisung's attention was on him, Jeno couldn't help but feel giddy. Something deep inside of him felt special every single time.

Surely, that didn't quite match up with jealousy, but Jeno failed to make such connections. If he was talking to Jisung, that was all he could focus on; Jisung. When they parted ways for practice after school, the intrusive thoughts did not return.

Jeno breezed by basketball practice, feeling light in his limbs and fast on his feet. He was in a mood noticeably more bright than the stupor he felt for the last few practices. Yukhei and Mark shared a look here and there, but neither discussed, or confronted their captain about it.

About halfway through practice, after a little celebration for getting the ball into the basket from a fairly far distance, he broke from the game and jogged to the side of the court. He told Coach Jung he was going to take a quick bathroom break, and made his way to the changing room when he was given a nod of approval.

"Too slow!"

He was suddenly shoved to the side, and stumbled away right before he reached the door. He was less than surprised to see the culprit was none other than Lee Donghyuck. The tan boy stuck his tongue out and threw up a peace sign as he disappeared behind the door, and Jeno playfully groaned. There was only one urinal, and the stall had been out of order for a week. He'd have to use the one in the hallway.

With a shake of his head, he trekked across the gym to the door. When he saw the janitor's cleaning trolley blocking off the entrance to the entry, a second, more meaningful groan left him. He jogged down the hall to the bathroom around the corner, and huffed in annoyance.

Jeno was only a few steps past the corner when he heard peculiar sounds coming from the bathroom he was heading towards. It wasn't the generic joking between friends, rush of water, or the pump of the soap dispenser. He slowed to a walking pace, and strained his ears.

There was hushed speaking. Female. Jeno snorted. He was going to have to interrupt an activity that he himself hadn't done in a good while. There was no way he was running to another bathroom.

The girl spoke again, and this time, Jeno understood what she said. It made him stop in his tracks. "Answer me, Park."

Now he was just confused.

More noises came afterward.

A thump. A squeak of a shoe on the floor. Jeno was still confused, until the unmistakable sound of a slap echoed out of the bathroom, accompanied with a yelp. His blood ran cold.

That was enough for Jeno. His feet moved again. In an instant, he was barging into the tiled bathroom with heavy footsteps to make himself known. The second he rounded the corner, however, he froze. He could barely comprehend what he was looking at.

Against the nearest wall, Park Jisung had his arms crossed over himself defensively, one of his hands cradling his cheek. He was cornered by two girls, who both were shocked to be caught in the middle of whatever they were doing. They slipped out of the bathroom so quickly, Jeno had no time to identify them through the struggle to understand the scene in front of him.

He was left alone with the dancer, as they stared at each other in silence.

Jeno wanted to speak, but he didn't even know what to say. His mouth moved before he could think of words. "Hey-" He started, when Jisung suddenly dropped into a crouch, and hid his face behind his hands. Jeno's eyes widened.