126. Halfway

By the time Ijin got to school, Seokju was already in his seat, his head resting on his arms with his face tucked into his elbow. Someone had placed their school blazer on him like a blanket, and if it wasn't for that, he would have thought that Seokju was trying something new to try and ignore them completely.

With his eyes lingering on Seokju, he slowly walked to his desk, only looking away to give Yeongchan and Hyeokjin a questioning look. He didn't have to say what his question was. Going back to his homework, Hyeokjin calmly answered, "He was already asleep by the time I got here." Hm...

Again, Ijin glanced over at Seokju, his friend's shoulders rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern as he slept. Just how tired was he, if he was taking a nap at school? That was certainly a first, especially once he remembered that Seokju had been trained to be aware of his surroundings at all times. It was quite concerning to see that Seokju was tired enough to take a nap at school of all places.

Yeongchan huffed, his hand stretched out, "Ijin. Give me your jacket."

He blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Give me your jacket," Yeongchan repeated, his thumb pointing over at Seokju as he did so, "Mine is too small to cover him completely, and Hyeokjin doesn't have his, yours is big enough." Oh, that made sense. Looking over at Seokju, he could see what Yeongchan meant by his jacket being too small to cover him, his jacket only went down to Seokju's mid-back while his would be big enough to cover him.

Without another word, he handed Yeongchan his jacket, which his friend took, and walked over to Seokju's desk. Gently, Yeongchan draped the blazer over Seokju's shoulders and made minor adjustments so it covered him better.

The fact that Seokju didn't stir was only a testament to how tired he was.

That brought up another question, one that Yeongchan asked him when he sat back down. "Why is he so tired?" Ijin was wondering the same because Seokju had been taken off rotation from work and he had even been excused from training for the past week already so as far as he knew, Seokju didn't have any physical activity that would make him so tired.

Hyeokjin sighed as he continued his homework, only sparing Seokju a sullen glance as he did so, "I don't know. Yeona says that he's not allowed to leave the house. You said that he's not doing training either right?"

Ijin nodded, "He's been put on leave since last week. He's not working either, and he's only allowed to be at the gym for two hours, remember?" Not to mention, there was no way Seokju was doing enough physical activity to leave him so tired within a mere two hours. Two hours was nothing compared to their usual daily activity.

"Right right." Hyeokjin trailed off, his lips turning into a thin white line as he did so. "You don't think anything is happening at home, do you?" That was enough to make all of them nervous, the three of them exchanging looks at the mere thought.

"I don't think so." Yeongchan said quietly, looking nervous at the prospect of Seokju having problems at home. "His parents aren't even home. Yeona already told us that they haven't been home for over a year already." That was a good point, but it still didn't explain why Seokju was in his current state.

Hyeokjin shook out his shoulders as a shiver went down his spine. "Yeah, I know. Just I dunno. I have a bad feeling about something."

"We're not denying that something is going on," Ijin amended because it was obvious that there was something going on that was causing Seokju to lose sleep, but he knew that it wasn't for the reason Hyeokjin was thinking, "But I don't think it has something to do with his parents. They're not home." Seokju had said that his parents rarely contact him as well so it had to be something else.

"Maybe he's been feeling depressed." Yeongchan suggested in a whisper, and when he saw the stunned looks they gave him, he gave them an exasperated look. "Don't look at me like that. If my mom made me cut everyone off and made me stay home all day, I would feel depressed too. I know I have a hard time sleeping when I'm feeling down. I can't imagine how he's feeling right about now." Yeongchan trailed off, his gaze going to Seokju as he did so.

He had been quick to deny it, but that sounded plausible. The more Ijin thought about it, the more he realized that Yeongchan was most likely right about Seokju feeling depressed. He swore that Seokju came in looking more worn down by the day. His clothes were prim and proper as always, but his clothes did nothing to hide the exhaustion on his face.

The more Ijin thought about it, the more he realized that the smiles and nods of acknowledgement were just a front. More often than not, Ijin found himself thinking about how fake Seokju's smiles looked.

Hyeokjin and he exchanged glances, and he already knew from Hyeokjin's look alone that he was also finding some truth in Yeongchan's words.

"Hey," Jaehyung slid into the seat in front of his and Yeongchan's desk, "what are we whispering about?"

"Seokju," Hyeokjin whispered back, sending a glance their friend's way to make sure that he was still asleep, "Yeongchan said that he might be feeling depressed and that's why he's so tired."

Jaehyung looked over at Seokju as well, leaning around Hyeokjin's figure as he did so before he leaned back into the little huddle they had formed. "Yeah probably. He has our numbers right?"

Ijin nodded, "Yeona already gave him the paper. She said that he can't save them in his phone, but that he'll keep the paper in his room just in case."

"Good," Yeongchan nodded his head in approval, "Hopefully he'll call one of us if he needs help."

"His parents are coming home soon, right? At least he won't have to deal with this much longer." Jaehyung said lightly, a relieved tone in his voice that was reflected on his face.

Ijin scrunched up his nose, "We don't know if Seokju's parents will let up after he talks to them." He didn't want to stamp out their hopes that Seokju would be able to catch a break, but at the same time, he didn't want them to be hoping for something that would never happen.

Hyeokjin leaned back as he crossed his arms, a sour look on his face as he left his homework unfinished on the desk. "Yeah, well unless they are some real dick heads, I doubt they'll make him do this for much longer. I'm reporting their asses if they do."

"Reporting them for what?" Yeongchan asked, looking at Hyeokjin as if he said something particularly stupid.

"I don't know, I'll figure something out," Hyeokjin said stubbornly, not even phased at the looks they were giving him as a result. Well, not that Ijin didn't agree but...

If the situation wasn't fixed, Ijin wasn't even going to report them, he was just going to solve the problem himself by breaking down Seokju's front door if he needed to.

And if he had to do such a thing, he already knew that he wasn't going to have any regrets in doing so.

"You're going to meet up with him in the locker room again, right?" Ijin nodded at Yeongchan's question, confirming that just like they had planned, Ijin and Seokju were going to meet up in the S.W. training center.

Ijin looked at the door just in time for Yeona to walk in, and while she gave them all a smile and greeting, it wasn't long until she was sitting next to Seokju, settling in before she started to wake him up. He almost stopped her from waking him up but when he looked down at his phone, he realized that they only had a minute before class started so he was going to have to wake up.

Sometimes Seokju did have shit luck.

Gently, Yeona tapped his shoulder, calling his name as she did so to try and wake him up. When that didn't work, she shook his shoulder a few times until he woke up. Groggily, Seokju picked up his head, his hand going up to rub at his eye and the accompanying eyebags. He didn't even react as Yeona smoothed his hair over, the fabric marks on his face reflecting his sleeping position. As much as Ijin wanted to ask Seokju if he was okay right then and there, he couldn't.

And it was infuriating.

Since Seokju was awake, Yeona took off their jackets and handed them back to Yeongchan and Ijin, the action causing Seokju to wake up some more. Blearily, he looked around the classroom, a blank and desolate look on his face but when he saw them, he offered them a small smile, the action not quite meeting his eyes as he did so, before he started to get his school books out.

Ijin had never understood what Kang had meant when he told him that his eyes used to look hollow. Ijin didn't understand at the time because to him, eyes were eyes, they couldn't look hollow. Even when Ijin looked in the mirror, he never understood what Kang meant when he said that he had an empty look in his eyes.

After seeing that smile, Ijin understood.

He understood because they were all forced to watch Seokju decline into such a state.

They were getting the front row seats as Seokju lost his spirit.

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They had no shame. None of them and none of them could bring themselves to care. Yeona certainly didn't as she pushed the last student out of the bathroom, locking the door right behind him. She had also been the one who had led all of them to the gym bathroom, which was always deserted during lunchtime.

"There," Yeona said triumphantly, a pleased tone in her voice, "now the teachers and your parents won't know!"

Seokju gave her a flat look as did the others, "Yeah, like five guys and a girl locking themselves into a bathroom isn't suspicious in the slightest." Jaehyung drawled out. That was a good point. Ijin wouldn't be surprised if someone reported them for doing that.

That just meant that they had to make it quick. Before someone came across the locked bathroom and reported them. The only other exit was the window, and Ijin could tell that it was either too high up or too small for everyone to get through it.

If Seokju got in trouble for sneaking out, then there was no doubt he would get in even more trouble for locking himself in the bathroom with them. His parents having another thing to be mad at him about was the last thing Seokju needed.

Ijin scowled at the thought of Seokju's parents. He knew that parents could be strict. From what he has heard about the others' parents, they ranged from lenient to strict, but even Ijin had to admit that their parents were reasonably strict. Yeongchan's and Seokju's curfew was eleven at night while he and the others didn't have one, but it was still reasonable. It was rare for them to hang out until eleven at night because if they didn't have school, then they all had morning responsibilities, not to mention they all liked to sleep.

But what Seokju's parents were doing was just ridiculous.

What type of parent forced their kid to cut off all connections with his friends?

Yeah, they got in trouble, but that type of punishment was not appropriate considering that they got off with a slap on the wrist, they didn't even get fined for driving without a license or speeding.

Weren't parents supposed to care for their kids? Hyeokjin's mother was a special case but Hyeokjin said that there was something wrong with his mother mentally so that could be explained.

Seokju was being discarded by his own parents, the people who should have cherished him the most.

Ijin wondered if they were all thinking the same thing.

"How are you doing?" Hyeokjin started, a crease in his brow. That was enough for all of them to shift gears, all of them turning towards Seokju.

It was a simple question, but it had Seokju letting out a soul-heavy sigh as if he had asked to explain the current social and economic problems of society. Seokju shrugged his shoulders as he crossed his arms. He leaned back against the sink and while he didn't quite avoid making eye contact, he also didn't make any effort to turn toward them. "I'm fine. Just tired."

They all frowned at each other. Seokju seemed a little bit more than just tired, "You haven't been sleeping?"

That must have been the wrong question because, with it, Seokju had turned away from them, blatantly avoiding eye contact as he stared at the wall parallel to them. "Yeah... I've been having a hard time lately."

Silently, they exchanged looks. That sounded like a load of bullshit, it was obvious that Seokju was lying to them, or at the very least, was not telling them something.

Ijin glanced over at Yeona, who met his eyes and just shook her head, signifying that she didn't know what was up with Seokju and sleep. Maybe Yeongchan was right, maybe it was Seokju's mood that was keeping him from being able to sleep. If that was the case, Ijin wouldn't be very surprised to hear that Seokju was trying to keep his mental health to himself.

There wasn't much they could do about that. There wasn't much they could do at all other than let Seokju know that he had their support. All they could do was wait for Seokju to talk to his parents and then figure it out from there. "Have you talked to your parents?" Ijin asked, and ever so slightly, Seokju's shoulders relaxed some from the topic change.

"No." Seokju sighed, shuffling on his feet, turning towards them once again, "they should be home soon, but I don't know when." More than one nose wrinkled in disgust. There was nothing wrong with Seokju's parents. As far as he knew, they didn't have any mental conditions that would excuse their lack of care and attention to their only child. Even if they were busy with work, how could they not find the time to text him?

Kang wasn't his father, nor were they related by blood, but even he found the time to text him more than a few times a week. It was very rare that they didn't exchange words at least once and even then, that only happened when both he and Kang were too busy to remember.

Why did they even have kids if they weren't going to pay attention? Seokju was being hurt by the very people who should have protected him. He was being hurt by the people that he should have trusted with his overall well-being and despite the familial ties that they had, for some reason, his parents just didn't care.

Ijin just didn't understand why Seokju's parents treated him like that.

"Are you still not allowed to leave the house?" Hyeokjin asked.

He nodded, his eyes flicking down to the floor. "Yeah. I can only go to school and the gym."

Yeongchan sighed "That sucks."

"Your parents are hard asses." Jaehyung added on, shifting from side to side on his feet. He looked like he was a few seconds away from kicking something.

Seokju shrugged a subdued tone in his voice. "I broke their rules. This is what happens."

That was enough for all of them to stare at Seokju. "You didn't know your parents would do something like this. Your parents are punishing you like you did something when we only got detained." Ijin was quick to argue against that. Considering the fact that the most he and the others got was a severe scolding from their parents and guardians, Ijin knew that Seokju's parent's punishment was not normal. They got detained for speeding and littering of all things and that only blew it out of proportion.

Again, Seokju didn't say anything as he mulled over Ijin's words and he could see the cycle Seokju kept on going through on his face. The small frown on his face showed that he was really thinking about what he said, then his expression would become contemplative and then he was frowning again. Seokju shook his head. "I should have known better than to sneak out Ijin. I knew that I was going to be in trouble from the very start. I should have known they would do this if they caught me."

He said it without thinking. "If they were going to make you alienate yourself because you snuck out, then you have bad parents." As soon as he finished, Yeongchan smacked the back of his hand against Ijin's chest, a low "Ijin!" going throughout the bathroom. He ignored it.

That made Seokju glare at him, letting Ijin know that he was not going to tolerate those types of comments whatsoever. "My parents are perfectly fine. They're just strict."

Ijin leveled a look at him. "I may not know a lot about parents. But I know they are supposed to be helping you. They're supposed to be taking care of you." Ijin failed to understand how forcing their son into isolation was supposed to help him.

Seokju visibly bristled at that, his shoulders tensing up as he took a step closer to Ijin. For a split second, Ijin wondered if they were going to have another fight, though Yeongchan speaking up seemed to stop Seokju in his tracks. "Seokju," Yeongchan put his hands up in a calming motion, trying to defuse the tension that had quickly arisen. He had something of a bashful look on his face, "They're not supposed to be treating you like this." Seokju only tensed up further, becoming more and more upset that they were teaming up against him. "You say that you're fine but we all know that you're not. We can see it on your face, we know you're not fine. We're... we're worried about you."

Nods went around the room and Jaehyung scuffed his foot against the tile. "You're a human being and we all make mistakes. They're really overreacting, man..."

"Oh, like you would know. My parents would have reamed me if they found out I bullied someone like you used to do to Yeongchan." Seokju shot back, looking like he had eaten something particularly bitter as he ground out, "My parents only want what's best for me."

The meek tone in Yeongchan's voice was gone and replaced with a hard tone. "We're not talking about me or Jaehyung's parents. We're talking about yours, and I forgave them already. You can't get offended on my behalf and not let us get offended for yours."

Even though it was hypocritical of Seokju to get offended like that, he didn't seem to care. "They're only doing what's best for me." he repeated, as if that would do anything to convince them.

Ijin raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Is that why they're making you so miserable? Because they want what's best for you? How is this doing 'what's best for you?'" Admittedly, that was not the best thing to say. When Seokju glared at him again, he knew that he was starting to piss off his friend, but it was just as important as the last time. He wanted to keep on going to try and convince Seokju that his parents were not treating him right, that his being detained was not enough cause for Seokju to suddenly alienate himself on his parent's orders, "How could they know what's best for you when they haven't even seen you for over a year?"

"What do you know?" Seokju snapped, finally making eye contact with Ijin as he gritted out, "You don't even know what you're talking about."

He had to push down his annoyance at the silent jab. Restraining a huff, Ijin kept his voice calm, "I don't need parents to know how I want my friends to be treated." And he certainly didn't need parents to know that Seokju's parents were mistreating him. Seokju turned towards him and took a step towards Ijin-

Yeona stepped in. "That's enough." Her voice was firm as she set her hand onto Seokju's shoulder, only for her to let it fall when Seokju shrugged it off. "We didn't come here to argue. We just wanted to know how you're doing."

"He's not even telling us the truth so what's the point?" Hyeokjin leaned against the wall as he said that, his arms crossed and his eyes focused solely on Seokju. "You keep on trying to pretend that you're fine and on top of that, you're so convinced that your parents are in the right, we're getting into a fight now."

"How many times do I have to say it. My parents only want what's best for me."

Hyeokjin stared at Seokju long and hard. "I used to think the same thing about my mom." Jaehyung's head snapped to Hyeokjin, only for the faux blond to raise his hand, motioning for him to be quiet. "I get it, Seokju. I really do. You want to make them proud, you don't want them to be disappointed with you and surely, they care and love you so listening to them must be the right thing. Right?" Seokju didn't say anything. He didn't say anything, he didn't do anything, all he did was stare at Hyeokjin. "For years, actual years, Jaehyung tried to convince me that my mom was abusive. We used to get into fights just like this because 'What did he know?'" Seokju bristled at the way Hyeokjin was almost mocking him, but Hyeokjin just kept on going. "He didn't live my life, he didn't know my mom like I did, so what did he know? She was my mom, why would she try to hurt me on purpose?" His words seemed to be hitting some type of chord in Seokju. They could see it as his shoulders dropped, as the anger was replaced by mounting confusion.

"Jaehyung was right. My mom was abusive. Only I didn't realize it until she threw me down concrete steps and left me there with my bone poking through my skin. I had to call Jaehyung so his parents could take me to the hospital." It was painfully quiet, and the others were on the verge of tears. Yeona had her mouth covered in horror, Jaehyung was staring at a corner of the bathroom, bitterness written all over his face. Yeongchan was in a similar state as Yeona and Seokju just stared at Hyeokjin with wide eyes, his lips pressed into a thin line. "I know you don't want to believe us, but please just hear us out." Hyeokjin said, his hand motioning at everyone. "The five of us are telling you that your parents are not good parents. Jaehyung saw me get abused, I got abused, Ijin grew up in a literal warzone, Yeongchan probably has some shit he doesn't talk about, and Yeona has dealt with all types of shit and I have no doubt that you were with her for every step of the way. And you don't think we don't get it? That we don't understand? You think we can't tell that you're miserable?"

The silence was suffocating, thick enough to cut it with a knife.

A murmur. "We know your parents aren't physically abusing you," Yeongchan said weakly, his hand rubbing at his upper arm, "they would have to be here in the first place but... neglect is still abuse. Convincing you that this is something you deserve is emotional abuse..."

Seokju turned to Yeona and she hesitated. She looked to them for help, her mouth opening and closing before she faced Seokju again. "We wouldn't be saying this if it wasn't true. No one is more important than yourself." Gently, she grabbed his hand, her thumb running over the back of his knuckles. "Is disappointing your parents really worse than going into a downward spiral? I know you said that you don't want to make things worse, but I don't see what they could do that's worse than this." They all nodded. Even if there was a way it could get worse, none of them wanted to see it. None of them wanted Seokju to sink lower than he already had. That was why they were having that conversation, so they could try to help.

Seokju sighed, a deep, weary sigh. "Look, I appreciate the concern, I really do. But," All of them stared at Seokju as he rubbed his face with his hands, "it's not as serious as you guys think it is." Ijin wished Seokju was kidding.

He really hoped that in that very moment, Seokju was just playing some sick joke, just enough to make them think that Seokju hadn't been convinced that they were right and his parents were the ones who were wrong.

The 'just kidding' moment never came.

"My parents are just busy with work. They're not-they are not abusing me, guys. Yes, they could be more often and yes, this does suck. Their punishment sucks and I hate it just as much as you guys. But this is my fault." Hyeokjin was rubbing at his brow bone, and the rest of them were also expressing their frustration and disappointment that they hadn't been able to get through to Seokju. "I snuck out when I was already grounded and got detained. Detained. We're lucky it wasn't worse. They are punishing me because I messed up."

"We're not saying you didn't mess up." Jaehyung said tiredly, "We were all with you when we got in trouble. What we're saying is that your parents aren't treating you right."

"Of course not. This is a punishment; they're not supposed to coddle me."

"Oh my god!" Yeongchan yelled out, exasperated as he threw his hands into the air. "Seokju! Even Ijin is saying that your parents are going too far! Ijin!! You know! The guy who grew up in a warzone!!" He motioned emphatically towards Ijin but continued when Seokju didn't look convinced. "Okay fine, let's say they are not abusing you-"

"They're not."

"-That doesn't make it better! It doesn't change anything! It doesn't change the fact that they're making you miserable! How is that not enough for you?!"

"I never said that it wasn't enough!" Seokju snapped out, and just like that, the tension was rising. "I never said that I wasn't going to talk to my parents! I just think you guys are overreacting!"

"How are we the ones over reacting!?" Jaehyung yelled back, "how the fuck is this overreacting?! So, your parents making you miserable is fine but us telling you that your parents are fucking assholes is us overreacting??"

"Shut up if you're going to talk about my parents like that, Jaehyung! What do you even know! At least my parents are concerned enough to keep me out of trouble! Maybe if your parents cared like mine do, you wouldn't have been such a dick to Yeongchan or to all of the kids you bullied before him!"

"That is not the same thing and you know it! Maybe if you had my parents, you would stop being such a fucking idiot and would be brave enough to stand up to them! At least I'm not scared of my parents! At least mine actually care about me!!" Instantly, the room had been plunged into a chilling silence, all of them staring at Jaehyung in near horror.

Whatever had been on Seokju's tongue died. Instead, all he did was stare at Jaehyung, his jaw clenched hard enough to make the veins on his temple bulge. They had just shoved him over the edge with that comment, and it was only a matter of time before someone said something they would regret.

Seokju seemed to think the same thing. He started walking towards the door, his fists clenched at his sides. "So much for help." Seokju muttered to himself, easily walking around Yeongchan to unlock the door. Yeongchan tried to keep him from unlocking the door by putting his hand over the lock, only earning a glare from their friend. "Yeongchan, I swear if you don't let me leave-" He warned, his hand wrapped around Yeongchan's wrist, his other hand unlocking the door at last.

"Seokju, don't-" He shrugged off Yeona's hand and pulled the door open, stepping through the doorway. Her hands pulled at his jacket, "Can you just stop for one second!"

"Can't you just stop!?" His voice echoed throughout the gym, his voice expressing his frustration. "They're all overreacting and so are you! Do you really think I can't tell the difference between discipline and abuse?! I'm not stupid Yeona!"

"We're not either! All we're saying-"

"All you're saying is that I have abusive parents that don't give a damn about me! I'd have to be deaf not to catch what you were saying!" Seokju flung his arm towards the bathroom, towards them, "This is what you dragged me here for!?"

"If you just listen to us-!!"

"Just shut up already, Yeona!!" Seokju was left almost breathless, his chest heaving up and down. "How was this supposed to help me!? How is this friends looking out for each other!? I came to you guys for support and all you guys are doing is telling me that my parents are abusers and that I'm too stupid to realize it! My parents are fine! Maybe they were right about you guys if you think that facing any repercussions is abuse!!"

She recoiled from him, "I-" Her voice cracked, "You don't mean that-"

"Stop assuming you know what I'm thinking." Seokju ground out, proving that Seokju really had meant what he said. "Stop thinking you know my parents better than I do. If this is all you guys are going to tell me, I don't want to hear it. Leave. Me. Alone." he directed to her, to all of them, looking over Yeona's shoulder to do so, making eye contact with every single one of them.

Ijin was the last one he looked at, and although his eyes lingered for a few seconds, Seokju turned sharply on his heel, walking out of the gym. The door slammed on the way out, the bang echoing throughout the gym.

The breath Yeona let out was shuttered, and it was like they could hear her heart breaking as she looked at the door, waiting for her lifelong friend to walk back in. Seokju and Yeona went everywhere together, and the fact that Seokju was walking out on her, willingly, spoke magnitudes about the standing of their friendship.

Hyeokjin let out an aggravated sigh. "Don't take it too personally, Yeona." He walked up to her, pulling her into his side as he rubbed her arm, "No one likes hearing they have bad parents. I was the same way when Jaehyung tried to tell me about it."

Hyeokjin doing that was the prompt they needed to join her, the three others walking up to them to help comfort her. "He's being dumb." She sniffled, her hand wiping away a frustrated tear, "and he's being a jerk." Yeongchan patted her back, giving her a comforting smile when she looked over.

"You would react the same way if we tried convincing you that your parents were abusive." Hyeokjin murmured, "Just give him time. He'll start connecting the dots like I did..."

"You didn't believe me until your mom landed you in the hospital." Jaehyung pointed out with a bitter tone in his voice.

Hyeokjin elbowed him. "I was also eleven. And Seokju's parents would have to be around to hurt him in the first place."

"I don't know..." Yeongchan looked between the door and the others, "what if he doesn't realize it? What if they do hurt him?" His teeth went to work on his lip, to the point where Ijin thought Yeongchan would draw blood if he continued. "What do we do then?"

That was easy. "Help him." They all turned to Ijin. "His parents hurting him won't change anything, especially if that doesn't convince him. We should just focus on helping him." Seokju was right, he had gone to them for support and all that happened was them getting into an argument, all they had done was the exact opposite of support.

And if Seokju did get hurt? All they could do was help Seokju lick his wounds and recover from the event, either emotionally or physically. They couldn't help him with his parents unless he accepted the truth, but they could at least comfort him.

"Yeah..." Jaehyung muttered, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck. "I'll apologize to him first chance I get... I should have known to not scream at him... it never worked when I did it to Hyeokjin..."

"Nope." Hyeokjin confirmed, popping the p. "Next time let's sit down and talk to him instead of screaming at him. We ganged up on him instead of helping." They all nodded.

"Agreed."

"He... He is still going to meet up with you, right?" That was a good question. The others turned to him for an answer, and it had Ijin wondering the same thing. A very good question. The conversation they just had had been all of a sudden, they hadn't planned for it, nor had they planned for Seokju to walk away like that.

"I'll stay anyway." It wouldn't kill him to spend a couple of hours waiting for Seokju and with any luck, Seokju would show up and they could have a proper, better talk. One that would go much better, with less arguing.

Yeona nodded, a strained smile on her face. "Thanks."

He hummed.

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Ijin sighed as he stood up, only sending a simple text before putting his phone away.

G.I Jidiot: He didn't come.