::::
"minho, changbin, can i speak with you both?" the teacher asked as the two were leaving history class. they both stopped in their tracks, and turned back around to face the teacher.
they walked around to the other side of her desk, where she looked up from the laptop and shut it. she looked disappointed, which honestly scared the both of them. this teacher is known to be sweet and casual, not strict but not a pushover. so when she's angry, you know that somehow, you fucked up.
"it seems like you both worked very hard on the recent project," she spoke, staring at only minho. he gulped, fiddling with the bandaid on his finger while looking down.
"oh, so i- we did good?" changbin questioned, relaxing. he gave a glare at minho, but decided to keep his mouth shut for the sake of his grades.
she stood up, meeting their level. she frowned, "no. you guys failed."
changbin gasped, crossing his arms. "with all due respect, excuse me?"
she opened the laptop again, pulling up the project. "this was a partner project, but only one of you did the job. and that was changbin."
minho let out a inaudible breath, not liking where this was going. "w-what- what...what do you mean?" minho rubbed the back of his neck, nervous.
"i have access to look at the edits. as of what i see, only changbin's account has been shown active. and i thought 'maybe they just did everything from one laptop', but when you both were presenting, minho seemed to know absolutely nothing."
minho and changbin exchanged glances. the younger looked pissed, and minho could feel his cheeks heat up from embarrassment as he shifted his weight from one foot to another.
"i-i'm sorry..." he talked lowly, feeling guilty and embarrassed.
the teacher let out a sigh, "i don't want to fail you both. but you need to learn to work together. i'm sorry, but this will help you learn for next time. now go."
with that, the two walked out of the classroom. once they were in the hallway, minho stopped him.
"changbin, look-"
"are you happy?! because of you, my A+ average is probably going to drop. i busted my ass on this project for the both of us, and i end up getting fucked over in the end! because YOU couldn't do your part!"
minho was taken aback by the yelling, unable to respond. all his words came out as a bunch of mumbles.
"changbin p-please listen to me."
changbin turned to walk away, but minho reached out and grabbed his arm. instead of speaking like he planned, minho froze. it was as if he was starstruck.
so many memories started flooding back to minho with just that one single touch.
"minho! hey, are you okay?" fourteen year old changbin asked when he saw his best friend crying in front of the high school. it was the first day, and the two haven't even stepped foot into the new environment yet. what could have possibly gone wrong?
"i-i don't know," minho mumbled, "i don't know."
"are you nervous for high school?" he asked, noticing how minho was shaking in his stance and stuck in his spot.
minho hesitantly nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat as he stared at the giant school in front of him. "it's gonna be so much harder than middle school. i-i don't want to disappoint my dad- my parents, i mean."
changbin sighed, pulling his friend into a tight hug. minho basically melted in the embrace, feeling better already.
that was the day changbin confirmed his assumption that something about his friend was changing.
that was also the last day the two were ever friends.
minho let a tear roll down his cheek, his breathing becoming hard. he made eye contact with the other, changbin looking confused.
changbin shook his hand away, and was off to his next class before minho got the chance to speak.
feeling defeated, minho sadly went off to his next class as well.
::::
minho was zoned out all throughout math class with stupid, unwanted memories screaming in his mind. he rested his head in one hand, fiddling with the pencil.
the teacher's speaking was muffled in his mind, as he remembers all the fun times him and his ex-best friend shared. it made him angry- no, furious. they had something so amazing, such a strong bond. but of course, minho had to mess it up.
"minho!" the teacher shouted, finally grabbing his attention. his eyes shot up, dropping the pencil.
minho felt all eyes on him, and he instantly felt embarrassed.
he motioned for minho to come to the desk. he awkwardly got up, following his instructions. the teacher didn't look angry, which is what confused the hell out of minho.
"are you okay?" he asked, catching minho off guard.
"yeah...yeah, i'm fine." he sadly smiled, desperately trying to convince him so he'll just be left alone.
"why don't you go down to mr. yoon's office for a little, okay? you seemed a bit out of it."
minho raised an eyebrow, but decided not to argue. he left the room, mentally thanking god the embarrassment was over.
::::
when minho walked into jeonghan's office, it was safe to say jeonghan was surprised. he knew to expect the student sooner or later thanks to jisung, but he wasn't expecting it so soon.
"oh, hey minho!" jeonghan smiled, motioning for the younger to take a seat. "how are you?"
minho hated that question for than anything. he wants to punch whoever asks it. but nether the less, he controlled himself, "fine, i guess. mr. jung sent me down here for some reason."
remembering what jisung had told him, jeonghan nodded, "are you in trouble, or?..."
"no, he just sent me down here because i 'seemed out of it'," minho air quoted the teachers words.
"well, was something on your mind?"
it was obvious there was. minho couldn't seem to hold eye contact, and he seemed to be thinking of something whenever he wasn't speaking, causing jeonghan to have to repeat himself.
"no. like i said, i'm fine."
jeonghan sighed, not wanting to force the kid to speak. once he was gone, jeonghan pulled out his phone and dialed his friends number.
"you're right, jisung. that kid is a closed, sealed up and packaged in bubble wrap book."
~
that last line made me laugh, don't mind me 👁👄👁
also, i finished outer banks last night. i literally cried so hard, it was so good but my heart said 💔 i 10/10 recommend it!
q: who is your favorite stray kids pet?
a: i love all, but i'm a simp for the underrated god berry
:)