nobody's pov
may 7th
12:00 pm
the past weekend for jian and hyunsoo had been amazing, as they spent so much time together and got closer than before. jian was even able to convince his mom to stay the entire weekend with hyunsoo since he didn't want to leave him. however, the weekend was over, and it was now tuesday afternoon. it was lunch for jian and hyunsoo, and the two boys were hanging together by a tree, searching for lady bugs since it was spring time. as hyunsoo was searching, he found a flower that reminded him of jian, considering it was beautiful like him. hyunsoo smiled softly, picking the flower from the ground and jogging over to jian, "ji, i got you this flower!" he smiled, "i hope you like it."
jian looked up at hyunsoo, smiling at him as he stood up, "thank you, hyunnie." the boy admired the flower, "it's so pretty!"
"l-like you." hyunsoo nervously smiled, looking down at the grass.
jian giggled at hyunsoo, kissing the younger's cheek, "thank you for the pretty flower, hyunnie."
"ew, did you just kiss his cheek?" a group of boys approached jian and hyunsoo, two of them giving them disgusted looks.
"and if i did?" jian sassed the boy that said those words, "he gave me a flower, so i must thank him."
one of the boys from the back peered out, walking up to jian and taking the flower out of his hands, "this?" the boy laughed, glancing over at hyunsoo, "what are you, gay?" the boy moved closer, throwing the flower onto the ground and stomping on it, "didn't mommy and daddy teach you that being gay is wrong?"
jian stepped in front of hyunsoo, putting a hand behind his back to hold hyunsoo's and give him comfort, "don't mess with my hyunnie, phan." jian furrowed his eyebrows, "being gay isn't a problem, but the way you were raised is."
"we were raised to be straight, just like you and hyunsoo should've been raised." phan shot back, "you're disgusting."
hyunsoo felt tears form in his eyes, as this was his worst fear. the boy looked down at the grass, feeling ashamed for who he was. jian held the boy's hand tighter, indirectly telling him its okay and he's there.
"look at that, the homosexual is crying." phan's friend, jax, laughed, "what a baby."
jian looked back at hyunsoo, as his expression softened up seeing him cry. jian turned himself, whispering to hyunsoo, "it's okay, hyunnie. you're not alone."
tuah, who was the more quiet one of the three boys, felt heartbreak for jian and hyunsoo, as he believed they shouldn't be faced with such hatred. the boy decided he couldn't stand for jax and phan, pushing past them as he went to hyunsoo and looked down at the boy, "are you okay, hyunsoo?"
hyunsoo shook his head, letting go of jian's hand as he pushed past both jian and tuah, running to the nurses office as all he really wanted to do was go home and be with his sister, who he knew would accept him no matter what.
"hyunsoo!" jian called out, watching the boy run off. the elder boy then turned to the other boys that were teasing the younger, "you guys are real assholes, and i'm so glad i'm no longer friends with you."
"and we're glad we're no longer friends with a gay." phan laughed, "disgusting."
"and if he's gay?" tuah questioned, "why do his interests concern you?" he furrowed his eyebrows, "why do hyunsoo's interests concern you?" tuah crossed his arms, "let them be happy, it's not that hard."
"are you a homosexual too?" jax questioned in disgust, "that's gross, you know."
"okay?" tuah said, in an un-phased tone, "it's my life, and i'll date whoever i want to date." tuah then turned to jian, "and if jian has a crush on hyunsoo, or hyunsoo has a crush on jian, then let them be happy in peace. it's their life, and their life doesn't concern you as you have your own." tuah looked at jian with sad, apologetic eyes, "you should really go after hyunsoo, he needs you."
jian nodded his head, thanking tuah before leaving and running after hyunsoo. phan and jax watched the boy run after hyunsoo, as they turned back to tuah.
"we're no longer friends with you, if you support that." phan threatened.
"good!" tuah smiled, "i don't want to be your friend if you don't support people's happiness." the boy shook his head, "i'm better off without you guys anyways."
"you won't find friends like us." jax warned the boy who started to walk away.
"i really hope i don't." tuah responded, as he walked off to his other group of friends that he knows is accepting and would hangout with whenever jax and phan were acting up.
"he's disgusting too." phan shook his head, "him, hyunsoo, and jian are all disgusting."
jax shrugged, "their life, not ours."
-
12:20 pm
jian was looking everywhere around school, as he didn't know exactly where hyunsoo ran off to. the boy was now in the office, looking around as he saw the boy crying to the nurse, asking to use the phone. jian felt nothing but guilt and sorrow, as he knew this was his fault. the elder boy walked into the nurses office, looking at the nurse, "can i use the phone after him, too?"
hyunsoo glanced at jian, then back to the nurse as he took the phone and sat on one of the beds. hyunsoo dialed soojin's number, tears streaming down his face. the boy waited a few rings until he heard he answer.
"hi hyunnie, what's wrong, baby?" the girl paused, "are you crying?"
"please pick me up." hyunsoo cried into the phone, "please, i don't want to be at school anymore."
"okay hyunnie, i'll be there in fifteen." the girl responded, "is it okay if mingyu comes?"
"yes, just please take me home." he begged, "please jinnie."
"we'll be there soon, baby. trust me." soojin told the younger, "just hang tight, okay?"
"okay." hyunsoo nodded, "i love you, soojin."
"i love you, hyunsoo." she responded back, before hearing the phone hang up.
hyunsoo handed the phone to jian, who sat down next to him and held his hand, trying his best to comfort him by rubbing circles with his thumb on the back of the younger's hand.
jian talked to his mother for awhile, explaining in vague detail of what happened. he ended up asking if he could go home, which she allowed and said she'd be picking him up soon. once the younger finished his phone call, he got up and handed the nurse the phone again. jian walked back to hyunsoo, standing in front of the boy as he cupped his cheeks within his hands, "i'll be right back, hyunnie. i just need to get our stuff from class, okay?"
hyunsoo nodded his head, watching jian leave to go get their stuff. the younger boy then looked up at the clock, watching it tick as he waited. hyunsoo then bursted into tears again, feeling disgusted with himself. jian walked back into the nurses room with their stuff, placing it on the bed as he sat down next to hyunsoo, grabbing the boy's chin with his hand so he'd look at him.
"it's okay, hyunnie." jian said softly, looking at the boy with a saddened expression, "it's okay."
"no it's not." hyunsoo shook his head, "i feel ashamed of myself."
"you shouldn't feel ashamed of yourself, hyunnie." jian responded, wiping the tear that dripped from his eye with his thumb, "it's okay, hyunnie. being interested in boys is okay."
"i don't want to talk about it anymore." the younger said, moving his face out of jian's hand and sitting more to the edge.
jian sighed out, looking at the floor as he kicked his legs. the two waited for those that they called to come pick them up, hyunsoo leaving first, without telling jian goodbye. hyunsoo was quiet the entire car ride home, crying to himself over what happened. as soon as they got home, hyunsoo dropped his stuff downstairs and ran to his bedroom upstairs, closing his bedroom door. soojin sighed out, running upstairs after the boy and into hyunsoo's room, not wanting to waste her time being without him. mingyu stayed downstairs for a minute, locking the door and putting hyunsoo's backpack on the wall hanger.
"baby, what happened?" soojin asked the younger who was getting cuddled up in bed, hugging onto his teddy bear and crying still.
"people are meanies." hyunsoo said through his tears, "real big meanies."
"what happened?" she questioned again, sitting at the bottom of his bed.
"what's wrong, hyunnie?" mingyu asked as he walked into hyunsoo's room, closing the door behind him.
"i don't want to go to school ever again." the younger responded, holding his teddy bear tighter, "people are so mean, and they bullied me."
"why did they bully you, bub?" soojin furrowed her eyebrows, wanting to know what happened.
"b-because," hyunsoo's voice got softer as tears started flowing more, "i-i gave jian a flower."
"did jian bully you too?" mingyu questioned, trying to get more details, "is that why you didn't tell him goodbye?"
"no." hyunsoo shook his head, "we got bullied together, and now i feel like he hates me, so i just don't want to talk to him." the younger's crying continued to increase the more he talked, "if he didn't become my friend, he wouldn't have gotten bullied, or wouldn't have worried about standing up for me."
"it's not your fault, baby." soojin sighed out, "people are just really mean."
"it is my fault for being this way." hyunsoo couldn't handle it anymore, as he was completely sobbing at this point.
"hyunsoo," soojin softly started, "do you like boys?"
hyunsoo nodded his head, getting out of his spot in his bed and holding onto soojin, crying into her shoulder. soojin's heart broke at how hard he was being on himself, when he should be accepting of himself.
"that's okay, baby." the girl felt tears start in her eyes, "it's okay baby, it's okay."
"it doesn't feel okay." hyunsoo mumbled out.
"hey hyunsoo," mingyu called out while sitting on top of his bed, "my friend vernon likes boys, and he faced the same treatment when he was younger." mingyu confessed, "but as he got older, everyone around him became more accepting and now they're nice to him, and they don't mind what he likes."
"really?" hyunsoo asked mingyu through sniffles, looking at him, "it gets easier?"
"it does get easier, hyunnie." mingyu nodded with a smile on his face, "it will take a while, but i promise people won't be as mean when they're older."
"i got treated badly too, hyunsoo." soojin confessed, "some people weren't nice to me when i was younger because i liked both girls and boys, but as time passed, they realized their wrongs and became nice."
"you never told me you got bullied." hyunsoo looked at soojin with a sad face.
"it's hard to talk about people not accepting you, when all you want is acceptance." the girl sighed, a tear dripping down her face, "but it does get better, and i promise that you have your family to accept you, and that's all that matters."
"family acceptance is better than anyone else's acceptance, honestly." mingyu mentioned, "even if you feel alone, i promise that you're not."
"that's right," soojin smiled, kissing hyunsoo's cheek, "you're never alone when you have us and our family."
"thank you, soojinnie and mingyu." hyunsoo sighed out in relief, "thank you for accepting me."
"of course, bub. you're my little brother and all i want is your happiness." soojin responded, "i love you."
"hey, i love him too." mingyu mentioned, "stop trying to take my hyunsoo."
"he's mine." soojin told mingyu as she pulled hyunsoo closer and kissed his cheek again, "my little hyunsoo."
hyunsoo giggled at the two, "i can be shared!"
"no." soojin and mingyu said at the same time, bursting into laughter.
"fine." the girl huffed out, "i guess i'll share you with mingyu." she said as she let go of hyunsoo, allowing him to go hug mingyu too.
while mingyu was talking to hyunsoo, soojin checked her phone to see a missed message from jian, "hyunsoo, jian wants to come over."
hyunsoo looked over at soojin, shaking his head, "i can't face him after what happened today."
"i think you should let him come over, hyunnie." mingyu confessed, "he needs you, and you need him."
soojin texted back jian's mom, telling her that jian can come over. the girl then put her phone away, "well, i gave him the approval, so."
hyunsoo looked over at soojin, glaring at her, "you're mean."
soojin laughed at her little brother, getting off of his bed and grabbing his tissues off his desk. the girl sat back on hyunsoo's bed, wiping the tear stains off his face and cleaning his face off. she then got back up, putting the tissues where she got them and throwing the used ones away. mingyu ran his fingers through the boy's hair, fixing it so it didn't look messy anymore. hyunsoo then got off of his bed, and leaving his room to the bathroom to see if he looked good enough.
"he's so cute." soojin smiled, "i'm so proud of him for telling us."
"i'm proud of him too." mingyu nodded his head, "i hope he gets a boy who treats him like he's the entire world."
the two were interrupted with their doorbell ringing, which made hyunsoo run back into his room, "he's here! oh no, he's here."
"it's okay, hyunnie. you look cute." soojin told the younger, "come on, let's go see jian."
hyunsoo took a deep breath, nodding his head. the three then left the younger's room, walking downstairs. soojin walked over to the door, opening it as she was greeted by the younger boy.
"hi soojin." jian softly smiled, holding a small bouquet of sunflowers in his hands, "is it okay if i come in?"
the girl giggled at jian, nodding her head, "come in, jian." she said as she opened the door wider, allowing jian in. once the boy was inside, the girl waved out to his parents before closing the door and locking it.
"where is hyunsoo?" jian asked, "i have these to give to him." he said, showing her the flowers in his hand.
"i'm here." hyunsoo said, finishing the last step of the stair case.
"oh!" jian smiled, handing hyunsoo the flowers, "i got you these, as an apology and because they remind me of you."
"why an apology? and how do they remind you of me?" hyunsoo questioned, tilting his head as he looked at the flowers, "they're pretty, though."
"because i'm sorry that you had to get bullied by my old friends just because you gave me a flower." jian confessed, "i used to be friends with them, but after today, i can't be friends with someone who judges others on preferences." the elder then paused, as he got nervous to say his next sentence, "a-and they remind me of you, because they're pretty and they absorb brightness and radiate happiness, just like you!" jian then looked at his feet, "a-and they need the sun's help growing, and s-so, i feel like i'm your sun, and you're my sunflower."
soojin's heart practically melted at jian's little speech, as she watched hyunsoo's face light up.
"you think i'm pretty?" hyunsoo asked while admiring the flowers, lost in awe to even look up at jian.
"y-yeah." jian nodded as he then sighed, "and i wish that those idiots didn't stomp on my flower you got me. it was really pretty too, and it was even better considering it came from you."
hyunsoo finally looked up at jian, kissing his cheek, "thank you for the flowers, ji." he softly smiled, "and i'm sorry too, for pushing you away and being the reason you got bullied too."
jian shook his head, "you're not the reason, hyunnie." the boy sighed, "they just are too close minded to accept that boys like boys and girls like girls."
hyunsoo looked at the boy, then back at the flowers as he tried finding the prettiest one. the younger then picked it out of the bouquet, "this is a hyunnie approved sunflower, and because my sun helped me grow, i must reward it!" hyunsoo said, smiling as he handed jian the flower, "take it."
jian smiled at the boy, taking the flower and holding it tightly, "thank you, hyunnie."
soojin smiled at the two boys, then glancing over at mingyu, "i think we should all go get milkshakes, what do you guys say?"
mingyu nodded his head, "the best way to make a bad day into a good day is milkshakes."
"i'm sharing with hyunnie again." jian said, calling dibs on the younger boy as he grabbed his free hand, and looked over at him, "what are you in the mood for? cookies and creme? chocolate? vanilla?"
hyunsoo giggled, "i'm in the mood for whatever you're in the mood for."
soojin laughed at the two boys, "while you guys decide, i'll put your flowers in vases so they don't dry out while we're gone." she said, walking over to the boy and holding her hands out for them to hand her the flowers.
once the boys gave her the flowers, they started discussing what flavor milkshake they should get. mingyu laughed at the two boys, shaking his head.
"hey jian, take care of hyunsoo, yeah?" mingyu said, giving him a nod of acknowledgement.
"of course." jian smiled, "i'll never let anything bad happen to my hyunnie."
hyunsoo's heart skipped beats at jian calling him his hyunnie. the younger boy felt his face start to turn red.
"s-strawberry." hyunsoo stuttered out, "i-i want strawberry for our milkshake."
"strawberry sounds good." jian nodded his head in agreement, "i'm down for a strawberry milkshake."
"you guys got your flavor?" soojin questioned the two boys who nodded their heads. the girl then walked over to where the keys were, tossing mingyu his, "you're driving."
"of course i am."
-
1:00 pm
jian and hyunsoo were sitting alone at a booth, enjoying their milkshake together. it took a lot of convincing for mingyu and soojin to leave, but they decided they wanted to talk about certain things alone. however, mingyu and soojin kept an eye on the two boys from the booth across them, making sure no random person came to them.
"so, hyunnie," jian spoke up, "i-i know you didn't want to talk about it, but, i wanna know." he looked at his hands, nervously playing with them, "d-do you like boys?"
hyunsoo nodded his head, letting out a soft sigh, "yeah, i do." the boy sat back, "do you too? or did you sticking up for me just make them think you like boys?"
jian shook his head, "i like boys too." he softly smiled, "actually, i like this one specific boy. he's the only boy i've ever liked or felt anything for."
"tuah?" the younger asked, "he was nice for sticking up for us."
"not tuah, hyunnie." jian laughed, "somebody else." he said, "but, tuah is really nice. i hope he stopped being friends with jax and phan, he's too good for them and was always too good for them."
"i-if tuah wants to, c-can we become friends with him?" hyunsoo questioned, "he seems like a really good person to be around."
"of course." jian smiled, "tuah is a good person to be around. whenever jax and phan said something close minded, we would just look at each other and roll our eyes. sometimes we would even leave together because we didn't like to put up with them." he then paused, "why are you getting shy? do you like tuah?" he asked, emphasizing 'you.'
"no." hyunsoo shook his head, shooting down jian's question immediately, "i like some other boy."
"you should tell me who that boy is." the older boy winked, as he then drank some of their milkshake.
"i'm good, thanks for the offer." hyunsoo responded, taking a sip of the milkshake as well.
"it's not like i'll tell him." jian pointed out, "come on, hyunnie."
"you tell me, and maybe i'll tell you." the younger said, drinking more of the milkshake.
jian hummed out, "how about on three we tell each other?" he suggested.
hyunsoo nodded his head, as they started counting down at the same time. however, after "three" was said, nobody said a word.
"i'm not falling for your tricks, ji." hyunsoo pouted, "i'm smarter than that."
jian sighed out, "fine." he pouted, "can i get a hint though?"
"why do you want to know so badly?" the younger asked, "it's not that important."
"i just want to know if they're worthy of my hyunnie's love." jian responded.
"go take a look in the mirror and ask yourself if you're worthy of my love then, and then come back to me and tell me if you think you're worthy or not." hyunsoo said without even thinking, "wait." he paused, covering his mouth, "wait, no."
"i'm your crush?" the elder gasped out, "wait, really?"
hyunsoo turned his attention to the window, "wow, look at that nice bird flying outside." he pointed out, only to avoid further confrontation.
"hyunsoo," jian called out.
"it's such a pretty bird." the younger continued to avoid the topic.
"hyunsoo." jian said again.
"look at it fly away, just like i wish i could with this conversation." hyunsoo said, turning back to jian, "i'm going to go become a bird."
jian bursted into laughter at hyunsoo, shaking his head, "talk to me already."
"i'm talking." he responded, taking another sip of their milkshake.
"do you like me?" the boy asked.
"maybe." hyunsoo shrugged, "maybe not." the boy then widened his eyes, "the world may never know."
jian continued laughing, "well, maybe and maybe not i like you." the boy paused, widening his eyes back at hyunsoo, "the world may never know."
hyunsoo smiled at the older boy, "come on, let's finish the shake."
jian nodded his head, drinking the rest of the shake with hyunsoo. the two continued to talk for awhile, up until they decided they should probably go back home. the four went back to hyunsoo's and soojin's house, getting jian's stuff before taking him back home.
-
2:45 pm
hyunsoo got out of the car, walking jian up to his door step. the younger boy smiled softly, "thank you for sticking up for me today, and thank you for not leaving me behind."
jian nodded his head, "of course i'm going to stick up for you, i promised myself that i'd protect you." the boy confessed, "and i'd never leave you behind, you're my favorite person to be around."
hyunsoo's cheeks turned red at jian's words, as he nervously looked down at his shoes, "s-so, do you want to sleepover this weekend?"
"i'd love that." jian smiled, as he then let out a sigh considering he knew he had to go, "thank you for today."
"you're welcome." hyunsoo smiled back, looking up at jian, "thank you for my flowers."
"thank you for my hyunnie approved flower." jian giggled, holding his sunflower close to his chest. the boy then looked back at his door, turning to hyunsoo and kissing his cheek, "i'll see you tomorrow, hyunnie."
the younger nodded his head, "y-yeah, i'll see you tomorrow."
the younger then turned to leave, only to be stopped by jian. "one more thing." he said, "thank you."
"for what?" hyunsoo questioned, tilting his head.
"for being you." jian responded, a smile on his face.
hyunsoo softly giggled at jian, nodding his head, "you're welcome, ji."
authors note:
i've been on a writing grind,, i'm so proud of myself
also i ended up convincing my mom to let my dye the front parts of my hair pink so i'm ready for that to happen
honestly if it looks bad i don't even care because i'm most likely doing online school this year LMAO SHDJSK TIME TO FUCK W MY HAIR AND GIVE ZERO SHITS😎😎😎😎