September 16

3:10 pm

"You call him a mess, Yook, but what about you?" Kevin said when Minyook had finally caught up with him.

Kevin had stormed off when Minyook informed them about his altercations with Jinxi. He didn't even accuse Jinxi of anything, he just mentioned how worried he was for him and Kevin had surprised him with this reaction.

Whatever it was, he felt awful when Kevin left. He didn't want Kevin to be mad at him, or worse, be disappointed in him.

"M-Me?" Minyook asked, tossing the honey-mustard chips into the nearby trash can. He just wasn't interested in playing anymore. His heart felt clammy and he desperately tried to look normal.

"Yeah- You," Kevin turned around to face Minyook, crossing his arms he continued, "Are you not a mess yourself?"

"What are you talking about? I'm not a mess Kook," Minyook took a step back, giving him a tight smile. He felt like he wanted to run but he couldn't. He could never run away from Kevin.

"Oh right you're perfect," Kevin said emphasizing while gesturing towards Minyook, "You must be incredibly content with yourself, aren't you?"

"I-" Minyook was sweating now, he shifted his weight from one leg to another in an effort to relax. He knew that Kevin was riling him up on purpose, but he didn't want Kevin to uncover his glittery gold mask.

Kevin left before he could finish his sentence. He was confused, desperate, angry, and absolutely clueless. He hadn't realized Kevin would be able to see past his fake chirpy exterior so easily.

He didn't know why, but lately, Minyook was frustrated. He felt like everything was fake like he was a third party looking over his life from a mobile screen. He felt sad and frustrated for no apparent reason and that made him even more infuriated.

He didn't know how to explain it to Kevin because he was unsure about it himself. He gave up and decided to make things right with Jinxi.

Maybe that would appease Kevin a bit. At least, enough to have a normal conversation.

~

3:20 pm

Kevin was agitated as he got onto the campus bus. He was mad that Minyook had purposely pushed Jinxi, knowing full well that he himself would also get hurt. He was thrown out of Jinxi's room in turn, but he still dared to take the blame on himself.

Minyook was extremely perceptive of the struggles and emotions of others, yet he failed to notice his own emotions, but Kevin did. Kevin saw the dullness in Minyook's eyes. He saw the smile that Minyook usually wore gradually lose its brightness. Minyook seemed irritated about something, but he did nothing to get rid of it, and that annoyed Kevin more.

Most of all, Kevin was angry that Minyook wasn't telling him about it. Maybe Minyook didn't consider him mature enough to confide in him.

Maybe Kevin was angry at himself too for being so unreliable.

Kevin sighed, leaning back at his seat before sending a message to Minyook. He could never be mad at him for too long.

Minyook was his weakness after all.

_________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile:

Junseong: *Finding out Kevin had left behind only the melted icecream*

Junseong: BRAT! (┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻━┻