𝙼𝚊𝚍𝚕𝚢 | 𝙷𝚢𝚞𝚗𝙻𝚒𝚡𝙸𝚗

52

[Hyunjin]

The silence that filled the room was enough to drive you insane. Since Jeongin left, dragging Felix with him. Neither of us said a word. Jisung kept staring at his feet shyly and shaky as if he was expecting a scolding for just existing.

I sat on my bed, legs folded in underneath me. My fingers fiddling with the paws of my sweater. I occasionally glanced up at him waiting for him to say something. Though his eyes never left the floor, I could see he occasionally opened his mouth to say something but his voice never followed through. Poor guy was shaking with anxiety. I was honestly worried his legs would give out soon.

"Jisung.. sit down." I spoke softly as I patted the mattress beside me. His eyes shot up and he gave me a thankful look as if he was going to grovel at my damn feet. "Why are you so anxious?"

"Cause I know you hate me." He admitted as he sat on the edge of my bed with as much distance from me as he could.

"What gave you that impression?"

"I don't know... maybe the looks you gave me. Not that they are unwarranted, I earned those looks." He shrugged.

"What's going on?" I grew slightly anxious with him... skeptical as if he was about to confess to murder or something.

"I just.. I feel so guilty, because I am in a way. Hyunjin my rumors, the ones that I started. They almost got you sexually assaulted. I never intended for it to go that far. I was just.. I didn't even mean for the incident with the football players to happen. It's never happened before. I thought it wouldn't go passed the gossiping in the halls, only enough to make you feel bad about rejecting me." He took a deep breath, fisting his shaky hands. "But then I got in trouble, and it pissed me off in a way. Because I didn't want to admit what I did was wrong back then, or that I had played any part in an act of harassment by the jocks and I got blamed for it yet they got to walk free..."

His voice was starting to break up words so I reached out and touch his shoulder. He took a deep breath and finally turned to me.

"I never intended for it to go so far at all. I mean, sexual assault Hyunjin. That's not.. and then what happened after the football game, I was still so angry and I targeted you. I know it was Chan's idea for you and Jeongin to.." he shook his head. "But I could've said something? Done something?"

"So that's why you're here? Guilty conscience?"

"That's only half of it. I wanted to apologize sooner, but for reason I will leave unspoken, my ISS terms were extended to the end of last semester if you hadn't noticed. Then I was basically on house arrest with Chan. I just.. feel guilty, that it all started because of me."

"Jisung, you may have started the rumor, but you never laid your hands on me. Never shoved me into a locker. You didn't try to stick you hands down my pants without my consent. Rumors are normally just rumors, meant to last maybe a week before they are buried with another one. It was everyone else that kept it going. I don't blame you for what happened after we stopped interacting."