IV

[Seungmo] Sun, 11:52 a.m.

Hyunjin :)

[Seungmo] Sun, 11:55 a.m.

Are you alive? :(

[Seungmo] Sun, 12:01 p.m.

Please text me back :(

[Seungmo] Sun, 12:34 p.m.

Something wrong? :(

[Jin] Sun, 12:40 p.m.

Sorry, I just woke up now :(

[Seungmo] Sun, 12:41 p.m.

Cool :) Are you okay?

[Jin] Sun, 12:42 p.m.

Yeah, I'm just tired, so I think I'll go back to sleep :D

[Seungmo] Sun, 12:43 p.m.

I get it :D What were you and Chris doing outside the diner last night? You were there for quite a while :D

[Jin] Sun, 12:46 p.m.

Wouldn't you like to know :D

[Seungmo] Sun, 12:46 p.m.

:(

Dude :(

[Jin] Sun, 12:48 p.m.

Nothing happened, we just hugged :D

[Seungmo] Sun, 12:49 p.m.

For almost five minutes? :O

[Jin] Sun, 12:50 p.m.

Yes, for almost five minutes :D

[Seungmo] Sun, 12:50 p.m.

Okay, I'll take your word for it this time :D

[Jin] Sun, 12:51 p.

Dumbass :D

[Seungmo] Sun, 12:51 p.m.

I love you too :D

[Jin] Sun, 12:52 p.m.

:D

I'm off to bed, see you Monday :)

[Seungmo] Sun, 12:53 p.m.

Bye bye :)

***

As soon as they met outside the school on Monday morning, Christopher couldn't help but notice how tired Hyunjin looked. He was pale, with dark circles under his eyes and his lips even more cracked than usual for this time of year. He wondered if it had something to do with the way his stomach had turned for a while after his first drink on Saturday night.

"Are you okay?" He asked cautiously, then put his hand on his shoulder. He touched it carefully, afraid that if he applied any more pressure, it might crumble under his hands.

Hyunjin nodded. "Yeah, I'm just not used to going out in the evenings and staying up late. Kind of knocked me out," he chuckled, which was followed by his typical mischievous grin, though this time it didn't hide his tiredness.

Even though the elder didn't completely believe this statement, he nodded. He didn't want to make him talk about something he didn't want to talk about.

"What happened? You're usually the last one here," laughed Seungmin, who joined them after a while.

Christopher shrugged and smiled. "I must have gotten up five minutes early."

"And me two minutes late," Minho announced with a laugh as he joined his friends. "Shall we?"

They slowly made their way to the main entrance of the building.

"Minho?" The eldest spoke up as Hyunjin and Seungmin disappeared into their classrooms.

"What is it?" the man turned his head towards him.

"Could I talk to you after school for a minute, please?"

"Sure," the younger man nodded. "What is it?"

"I'll... I'll tell you everything this afternoon, okay?"

Minho nodded understandingly.

***

As per usual, they gathered under a painting that looked like a unicorn had vomited on it, then headed for the dining room. Hyunjin still hadn't gotten his colour back and had to hold onto Seungmin several times to keep him from falling down the stairs.

"I know you only have two lessons left, but are you sure you don't want to go home?" Seungmin looked at him worriedly.

Hyunjin shook his head. "I can hold out for three hours. I really shouldn't have drank on Saturday," he laughed, pulling his hair into a ponytail to keep it from falling into the vegetable soup. Chris found himself staring, his gaze dropping to his tray.

"You almost passed out in class," Minho remarked half aloud.

The tall boy sighed softly and lowered his gaze. "It's just not my day today, but I'll be fine, don't worry."

Seungmin took a breath to say something, but in the end shut his mouth and remained silent. Nevertheless, he pierced Hyunjin with his gaze.

"Hyunjin, I know Minho and I have only known you for a short time, but if you need something, anything at all... you can turn to us," Christopher said softly, unconsciously taking his free hand in his own.

Hyunjin curled the corners of his lips into a grateful smile and squeezed the other's hand lightly, then slowly released it a few moments later. "Thank you," he replied softly.

After this conversation they ate in silence. The question still lingered in the air if the tallest of them was really as fine as he claimed, or if he just didn't want others to worry about him. Christopher sincerely hoped it was the first thing.

The moment Hyunjin stood up with the excuse that he needed to go to the bathroom, he began to subconsciously suspect that unfortunately it was the second option.

And when he didn't return for a good five minutes, his suspicion grew even more.

"Chris, can you go check on him? I... I don't think I can," Seungmin whispered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He suddenly looked extremely tired.

"Sure," he nodded, then got up from the table. He'd already finished his meal anyway.

"We're waiting here," nodded the boy with braces.

"If we can't catch you, we'll meet you under the painting during the break."

By the time Christopher reached the bathroom, he could hear gagging interspersed with clearing his throat and sobbing.

With his heart sinking to his stomach, he made his way to the locked cabin, where everything was silent except the stifled sobs.

"Hyunjin?" he whispered, then knocked softly on the door of the cabin.

"I'm fine, you can go to the others," came a tearful voice from behind the door.

"I hear that... Please open up when you feel up to it," he replied, walking a few feet away from the booths. He leaned his back against the tiles and folded his arms across his chest.

It wasn't long before there was a flush, followed by a click and the stall door opening. Hyunjin was still curled up on the floor.

Christopher's heart broke at the sight. With a few long strides he moved to the sad blob and sat down beside it. "Is it better?" He asked carefully.

The younger one sniffled and shook his head, then rubbed his eyes.

"It's okay, you don't have to talk if you don't want to."

Hyunjin nodded and rested his head on the elder's shoulder. The latter instinctively wrapped his arm around his shoulders and held him a little tighter.

"Thanks," the long-haired boy whispered after a few minutes of silence, then his eyes sought out Christopher's.

"You have nothing to be thankful for," the elder's corners twitched in the hint of a smile, and he wiped the tear marks from Hyunjin's cheek with his thumb. For a second, the thought of doing something else flitted through his mind, but as quickly as it came, he shut it down. "Do you have the strength to get up?"

"I think I have," the taller man nodded and stood up with the help of Christopher and the wall, then moved with slow, careful steps to the sink to rinse his mouth with water.

"I'll walk you to class," the elder offered.

The boy gratefully accepted the offer.

***

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Minho asked as he and Christopher sat down on a bench in a nearby park.

The senior was about to say something, but the younger one interrupted him. "Let me guess, Hyunjin?"

Christopher let out a long sigh and lowered his gaze. "Yeah."

"What's bothering you?"

The smaller one ran his palm over his face. "I thought it would be easier to talk about it..."

"There's no need to hurry, we have time," Minho assured him.

"I don't even know where to start," Christopher bit his lower lip.

"Wherever you want."

"To make a long story short... I never thought I could like a guy."

"Oh?" Minho raised an eyebrow and propped his chin with his hand, an amused smile creeping onto his face.

"I have absolutely no idea what to do about it, and if it's not just some kind of error..."

The younger one shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "You can try kissing him for five minutes, and maybe then you'll see where you stand."

Christopher blushed. He would have liked to argue with him about this, but he couldn't. The problem was that he wanted what Minho said, and he wanted it maybe more than he was willing to admit.