Intricate: The Beginning of Us| MARKNOMINHYUCK(bxbxbxb)

31: What the hell?

Mark

My gaze was cast to the front of the classroom, looking directly at the whiteboard but my hands made no effort to work on writing down what was being written on it. My eyes were there but my mind was in a whole different place, I felt kinda numb so after a while, I gave up on trying. Distantly, I could hear Mr. Moon's voice but I wasn't sure what he was teaching, I couldn't find myself caring either. I was thinking about only one person and only one event that seemed to have simply messed me up in less than a minute.

I thought everything was fine. I tried to convince myself everything was fine.

I think neither Jaemin nor I believed that.

"Mark," I flinch when I feel my body shaking and I also snap out of my daze. I return to focus, blinking rapidly to do so. I see that my classmates were all working on practice problems and when my eyes follow the hand on my shoulder, Mr. Moon was looking down at me with concerned eyes. "You look a little pale. Are you okay?" He asks gently.

I've known Mr. Moon for a long time. Since he was in high school, specifically. Back then, he was a part-timer at my parent's restaurant and he used to entertain me when I had to wait there until my parents were ready to go. We were close back then and even closer now. We never thought of the possibility of him being my teacher back when he went to college but just when he graduated, there was a vacant spot in this school and fate brought us to the same classroom. But because he knows me, he was especially stricter with me but with that, he also cared more about me. He knows when something is wrong with me, he always knows. I hate that part.

"I um, uh, I'm fine," I smile up at him.

"How about you go to the nurse's office? There's only a couple of minutes till lunch. Rest there then go have some food," he says with a tone that left no room for argument but I still find myself trying.

I sigh. "Hyung," I whisper, looking at him pleadingly. During class, I'm not allowed to call him that but I needed him to know I was serious.

"Go. We'll talk later," he retorts pointedly, grabbing my backpack and putting it in my hands. When I don't move, he glares at me.

I let out a quiet huff before stuffing my things in. I look at him one more time but roll my eyes after seeing the glare he directed at me. I stand up and walk away and out of the room, my legs carrying me to my destination.

For a second, I think about going elsewhere other than the infirmary room but I knew better than that so I continue my way there in defeat.

When I arrive in front of the door, I pause for a second before pushing the door open. When I walk in, the first thing I see is a row of beds, like usual, but when I turn my head to the left I'm temporarily surprised to see Lee Jeno sitting on a chair in front of the nurse's desk. The nurse, Ms. Kwon, was glaring at him before she looks up at me and gives me a sweet smile as if she hadn't just had one of the deadliest glares I had seen in my life.

"How can I help you?" She asks, ignoring the boy in front of her temporarily. Even though I could only see his back, I was sure that he was scowling.

"Mr. Moon told me I should rest. That I look pale or something like that," I answer awkwardly, shifting in my spot a little. My answer, or maybe my voice, seemed to have gotten Jeno's attention because I was sure that I saw him tense up even if it was only for a short second.

The nurse frowns. "Well, he's right, you definitely look pale. Are you feeling dizzy, having a headache, or anything similar?" She questions with genuine worriedness.

"I feel fine. Mr. Moon was just overreacting," I tell her with a small smile.

Ms. Kwon didn't really seem convinced but she grins at me. "You can choose a bed and rest until lunch."

I nod and take that as a cue to walk away. I take the bed pressed to the wall. I place my bag down on the one chair that was beside the bed before I lay on the bed and put an arm over my eyes. I could hear quiet mumbles and hisses and groans in the background but I don't let myself dwell on them and instead try to take a nap, hoping to take my mind off of everything that happened just a couple of hours ago.

It was easier said than done, though.

Becoming frustrated, I take my arm off my eyes and place both of my arms over my stomach. I sigh lowly and open my eyes, looking up at the ceiling.

What had happened? One minute we were fine, the other Jaemin was walking away.

I wish I was naive enough to think like that.

I know better. I could see it all in his eyes. The guilt, the regret, the hope. I wish I could have reassured him that everything would be fine but with every passing moment Jaemin seemed to stop believing more and more and as much as I wish my reassurances were enough, he didn't believe in those anymore.

The sound of a door slamming shut brings me out of my thoughts with a jerk. I thought that it was Jeno leaving but I was proven wrong when I hear the curtain of the bed beside the one I was using. I move a little back and through the small gap of the curtain between the beds I see him, his eyes are closed, his head laying on the pillow.

He seems to have felt that I was staring because he suddenly opens his eyes and snaps his head to look in my direction. I quickly move, my eyes wide and my heart raising in shock. I close my eyes again, trying to sleep but the pace of my heart didn't allow me.

At some point, I think I was able to take a short nap because the next time I opened my eyes, the bell was ringing.

I sigh and sit up after a few minutes.

"Has Jaemin come by?" I hear a feminine voice ask on the other side of the curtain. I frown.

"I don't know. I don't care," a masculine, nonchalant voice responds.

By now, I had figured out it was Ms. Kwon and Jeno.

"That's odd," Mr. Kwon mumbles. "He must've gotten tired of you," she answers in a teasing tone.

"I mean it, shut up."

"Hey, you will not disrespect me like that," I can imagine the glare on her face. "All I'm saying is that if Jaemin doesn't come back it's because of you. He has been such a good person by coming back to check on you and you have taken it for granted. Do you honestly not feel anything by him not being here?"

There was silence. Then a scoff. Then footsteps. Then more silence.

What the hell were they talking about?