"you're so dumb!" changbin laughed a loud laugh as jisung recorded minho with his phone as he tried to cross a shallow river, stepping on rocks that naturally formed a path.
minho had laughed at the slow pace the three were at that went before him, rushing them and promptly telling them they were being dramatic and too careful. minho quickly jumped from rock to rock once it was his turn, trying to prove his point correct; only failing as he slipped, having one of his shoes be fully dipped into the running water beneath him.
the atmosphere was calm as they went through the hiking trail they knew all too well. the sounds of trees rustling above their heads and the songs by crickets slowly becoming a constant sound radiating around them put them at ease. the conversational birds finished their bantering, resting atop of the tall branches which could create a perfect silhouette as the sun laid on the hills.
hyunjins contagious laugh echoed, "we shouldn't go further up, i can hear minhos sock squelching in his shoe." the targeted boy shot a grumpy stare, purposely walking faster so that the sound could be louder.
minho led the group to an open area that was clear of trees and a ledge that only had a few feet drop below them. the four boys footsteps crushed the gravel as two sat on a large rock perpendicular to the ledge and the others sat a few distance away on the ground, their bodies facing diagonally. jisungs eyes closed as he cross crossed his legs on the ground, emersing himself fully in the moment, feeling the cold wind dance through his clothes.
hyunjin was the one who joined in on the ground, looking up at the sky instead as he observed the clouds that infected the pinkish sky.
"so what's new, guys?" changbin broke the silence around them, awkwardly.
"nothing really." hyunjin replied back to him instead of laughing like jisung and minho.
minho calmed down and shrugged his shoulders, "i talked to jeongin about the whole.. thing." he did a small pause in hesitance as if he was unable to say the real thing. he looked at the group, hoping they caught on.
changbin leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs that were man spreading and looked over at minho next to him, "i'm sorry but, what was there to even talk about? did you tell him your feelings or something?" he asked genuinely confused.
hyunjins hand covered his face with a sigh escaping his mouth, "why do you even talk changbin?" he groaned. changbin's eyebrows raised and his mouth began to open again to defend himself once more until minho beat him to it.
"yes, i told him my feelings," he directed the comment towards the boy text to him, "but i also confronted him about how we stopped talking."
"how did you guys stop talking?"
"it was kinda my fault because he kept talking about jisung," minho started to explain. jisungs head grew heavy, facing down to his lap in shame, "he didn't know ji's name but it was quite obvious he was describing him whenever he did. i started to get sulky, hoping he'd notice but he never did. so he just stopped talking to me thinking i grew tired of him."
hyunjin nodded at his words and picked up the sad atmosphere the boys put themselves in, "at least you two cleared things up, right?"
minho nodded shortly. it wasn't a full nod, however, it was enough to convey a yes, "but he still likes jisung."
jisung finally looked up after hearing his name again, "minho, i don't like him! i only talk to him when i need to and i—i'm not even considered his friend! i would never be interested in someone that you are into— that goes for ALL OF YOU!" jisung rambled on. the rest created a choir of chuckles that only made jisung stop his rant.
"thanks ji but, it's okay. jeongins a really good person, i don't mind." minho smiled artificially, convincing the rest he meant it. he wasn't gonna let someone he liked create a grudge against his friends; there isn't a way to make every crush go his way, heartbreak is normal.
minho cleared his throat once no one else began to speak of another topic, "what about felix? anything happen yet?"
hyunjin stayed quiet. his body swayed side to side along with the wind as his eyes looked everywhere but to his friends.
jisung's eyes lit up, "i think i saw him the other day," he suddenly remembered, getting hyunjins attention again.
jisung continued, "yeah, he's like changbin's height, brown hair with green eyes. i saw him talking to chan too, actually." now jisung captured changbin's attention.
"HUH? HE'S FRIENDS WITH CHAN?" changbin freaked out. he continued to pester jisung into sharing more as he asked more questions than hyunjin when the information was supposed to be for him.
"yeah, he was getting lunch with him." jisung laughed, failing to hold back a smile.
hyunjins eyes squinted at the giggly boy next to him, "you're fucking with us, huh?"
jisung nodded, "yeah, i still don't know who he is." jisung laughed, changbin standing up with his hand in the air to playfully hit his friend. jisung flinched in response with his arms covering his face only for minho to hold changbin back.
"if you're so interested in chan, talk to him yourself." minho snickered, pulling changbin back to sit next to him.
changbin pouted and crossed his arms child-like, "it's not that easy." he mumbled grumpily.
"anyways!" hyunjin abruptly intervened, "everything's fine. we agreed to keep sending those letters 'cause he's scared to meet."
minhos eyebrow raised, "doesn't that sound suspicious?"
"no..?" hyunjins voice went on to make it a question.
jisung elbowed hyunjin lightly, "he's totally catfishing you, dude. not wanting to meet is the first red flag!"
hyunjin only shrugged his shoulder and formed a tight line with his lips. he wasn't worried about what felix looked like in the sense of whether or not he was cute. felix' looks could not be a deal breaker for him at this point— he couldn't unlearn who he is and what they've exchanged, he couldn't reverse time to when he didn't know of his existence, he couldn't change how he feels just because of the chance felix wouldn't be his type.
jisungs voice rang once more, "i thought you said you'd be tired of these letters if it went on— are you bored? personally, i'd be bored."
"my life's been so mundane, this is actually interesting." hyunjin answered him.
"you're such a loser." changbin chuckled as he insulted his friend. minho kept silent as the other two kept making comments about hyunjins situation.
hyunjins back slouched slightly with his arms crossed and his eyes focusing on the small pebbles in the gravel in front of him. jisung and changbin's words flew over each other as they bickered back and forth. a snide remark from changbin would be responded with a head nod, and a stupid joke from jisung would receive and deep sigh. minho smiled at the three, enjoying that he wasn't in between the loud and echoing defiance of disagreements.
