Ugliest Professor [NamJin]

VIII. Guilty Conscience

Jin woke up on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. The room's walls are grey with a black accent wall. There was a computer that's the size of a small TV on a black desk, along with high quality speakers and music equipment. The bed he was in had white silky sheets and a light grey comforter. A shaggy black rug covered most of the area of the room. Somehow, even though the room was practically grey scale, it was pleasing to the eye.

There was one giant square window with an arched top behind the head of the bed. Nothing covered the window, so the rays of sunlight were free to illuminate the bedroom. Jin squinted as he slowly slid out of the queen-sized bed. He was relieved to see that he still had on the same clothes as before. Nervously, he opened the bedroom door and peeked his head out.

The first thing he saw was the kitchen. He recognized that and figured that he's at that man's house. He looked left and found a single black, armless couch. It was occupied by a being in an oversized grey shirt and black boxers. Namjoon felt someone's eyes on him and figured it was Jin. Without ungluing his eyes from the fatscreen television, he smiled, "Good Afternoon, Jin."

And then, everything finally clicked in Seokjin's head. It suddenly made sense; the fact that Sexy Man from the grocery store is the same person as Professor Kim. It would solve Jin's suspicions: the way Sexy Man kept his back turned, how his voice would suddenly sound like Namjoon's, the uneven dimples. Jin knew he looked familiar.

Guilt spread through his conscience like wildfire.

"Jin? Why are you crying?" Namjoon walked over to Jin, who refused to meet his eyes. "You alright? You can talk to me, you know." Namjoon knows he's stepping on the line between being professional and unprofessional, but Jin just seems so unhappy these days, and he needs to help.

Seokjin shook his head and sniffed. Without warning, the older wrapped his arms around Namjoon's upper torso and cried on his shoulder. "I-I'm s-s-so sorry," Jin croaked. "I wa-as s-o me-me-mean..."

Seokjin was already emotionally unstable due to what has transpired between him and his parents. Realizing that he had been bullying a beautiful man made him feel horrible. It was just enough to send him over the edge.

"It's okay, Jin," Namjoon spoke softly, rubbing the older's back to sooth him. "I expect insults. I appear ugly at school on purpose. I promise it's okay."

"But it's not okay!" Jin's knees gave way and Namjoon had to hold him tightly against himself to prevent the older from falling. It broke the professor's heart to see him sobbing like this. "N-nothing's okay!"

"Okay, calm down... Let's talk, okay?" Namjoon continued to keep a firm hold on the broken boy as he led him to the black couch. They say down, and to Namjoon's surprise, Jin sat sideways in his lap like a child, and continued crying.

After spending a solid twenty minutes trying to calm Jin down, he was finally okay enough to talk. Why Jin decided to confide in Namjoon was beyond him, but he did. He told Namjoon everything, from his confession to getting kicked out. Not a single detail was left out.

Namjoon was stunned. He couldn't understand how someone could do that to their own child, even if their child is an adult. It hurt his heart to know that Jin has been living on the streets for over a week. Suddenly, he blurted out, "Live with me."