change your mind - sookai ff ☆

nine

About four seconds after Soobin woke up the next morning, his mind was drowning in the events of the previous day. How he had just left Hueningkai there, how he hadn't contacted him at all, and how when he told Yeonjun, he cried for hours, contemplating whether to run back or not. To make matters worse, he had to go to school the next day for three periods,
two of those classes involved Hueningkai.

There was a knock at the door, followed by Soobin's older brother walking into the room with two cups of coffee, Americanos of course.

"So. how're you holding up?" Yeonjun asked, placing the drinks down. Anyone in a 100-metre radius would be able to see that Soobin had cried his eyes out.
"I'm scared," he replied with deep honesty. "I'm scared for his safety. I'm scared because of
the possibility that I won't see him again. Jun, I'm scared because I love him."

I love everything about him, Soobin thought. The way his brown locs move across his face, the
way his eyes are crafted as a deep brown, the way whenever he gets excited he bundles his hands up tight and all his dimples are showing, I love him more than anything, even life itself, and I don't think I'Il be able to bear him leaving me.

All Yeonjun could do was watch when Soobin was speaking, and when he finally finished, he asked the question lingering in his mind.
"You love him more than... her?"
"I loved her more than anything, now I love him even more than I ever did her."
"Good."

A minute of silence passed. "...By the way, umm, I'm sorry for how I acted the other day, you know-"
"It's alright, Soobin, your reaction was completely understandable, I seriously should've told you earlier." Yeonjun said.
"By the way, when's the exact date?" Soobin asked, not completely sure if he wanted an answer.

The elder took a deep breath before responding. "Thursday is the day we have to be in."
"Oh." Another minute, but this time, they were just glad to be with each other.
"Soobin.. when you go to school tomorrow, can you make sure he's okay for me?"
"Of course."

☆

Hueningkai was nowhere to be found the next day.
And Soobin never thought he could experience that much loneliness ever again.

He wasn't even feeling just one emotion, he emitted them too. Everyone that went near him instantly cowered in fear, in lessons his aura was straight dark, even when he saw the people who harassed Kai on the first day, one of them cried, feeling too overwhelmed. He wasn't the same, and more and more people started noticing who was causing this (the majority of people being Taehyun). When he finally told his best friend the events of the day,
he had cried so much that the neck of his shirt was stained.

And whilst he was walking home that day, it was raining and he hadn't brought an umbrella
so he had to run while crying his eyes out, like a scene straight out of a cheesy drama. On his route home, he saw the coffee shop, the one where Beomgyu worked, and decided to sit and eat for a little. There were a miniscule amount of people anyway so at least he'd have some space to clear his mind.

Beomgyu looked up when he heard the ring signalling that someone had just entered the cafe.
"Hi, what can I do for- oh my god, Soobin, what happened to you?" he said, worried.
"Don't worry Beom, I'll be fine. Can I have two red bean bun meals with hot chocolate?"
"...Sure thing."

Soobin sat down at a booth in the back and waited for his food to arrive. He took a deep breath and pulled out his phone, went to messages, and clicked "hueningkai."
'He changed his name.' Soobin thought before thinking of what to say - it was now or never.

soobin :D - could you meet me at the cafe near my house?
After a few minutes, his phone buzzed softly inside his pocket.
hueningkai - whatever

Whatever. It was progress, at least. Very slow progress.
As Soobin put his phone away, a genuine smile printed on his face, he went through the
conversation the two were going to have in the stall. He would ask Kai how he was doing, then he would receive the food and make a genuine apology to his lover, give or take a few tears.

The bell at the door rang signalling someone had entered the stall and there he was: an angel
wearing a black hoodie and a smile that could be seen through. He wasn't his happy self, far
from it, but he had to put the mask back on to avoid the questions of locals.

Hueningkai walked to the back of the cafe where Soobin was waiting for him and sat across
from him, looking straight at the floor and picking at his fingers.

Time was running out.