ᴘᴀsᴛᴇʟ ʙᴏʏ. || ᴍ.ʏɢ + ᴘ.ᴊᴍ ✔️

twenty-nine: living with heartache

It happened every so often.

Seokjin would see, out of the corner of his eye, that boy approaching, with a small, hopeful smile on his face, and the words that came from his mouth were always the same.

"Would you like to go out with me, Jin?"

He didn't know why or how Namjoon could be so persistent. Jin hadn't left it in subtext that he was straight. He said it outright, pretty much every time, and stressed that he wasn't going to change his mind. And yet still that boy came back, as though completely disregarding those words.

It was becoming exasperating.

Jin knew he was never really a patient person, but recently he had been trying to improve that, but this was just pushing him the wrong way. And the thing that bothered him was that Namjoon wasn't a bad person, so he didn't want to be rude, but at the same time, the boy's persistence was getting out of hand. No means no, he'd told him on several occasions. Apparently that hadn't made it clear enough.

He just didn't understand it. How a boy could fall for him, moreover a boy who was allegedly, like him, 100% straight. But again, he had confirmed this wasn't merely some ongoing prank, because he had spoken with Jimin about it, and more importantly, he could see the look in Namjoon's eyes. Something pure, genuine, something Seokjin had never seen anyone look at him with. Not even any of the girlfriends he'd had before.

It was frustrating. Troubling, and Jin just wished Namjoon would get over it already.

On the Monday of a new school week, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed - Seokjin, that is, whereas Namjoon awoke with that vague determination of his that he was convinced would never waver.

Yes, he would ask Jin out again today. And Jin would go to school today, dreading that question.

It just wasn't a good morning for him. On top of feeling as though he received not a wink of sleep, a package of his that was delivered that morning had been stolen, and even though it wasn't extremely expensive, it still upset him. Because of his sour mood Jin also forgot to grab the lunch he had taken the time to prepare the previous night, which he only recalled upon arriving at school.

The stolen package and forgetting his lunch were two strikes.

And just shortly after the school day began came the third one.

Kim Namjoon, that persistent boy.

It was right before PE started, and Jin was sitting on one of the benches in the gymnasium, his head in his hands as he tried to shake off the stress that had gotten the best of him that morning. He knew to an extent that maybe he was being dramatic, at least about the package and his lunch, but he justified himself in the sense that there were other things on his mind that just added to the exhaustion.

One being that persistent boy, who Jin, for once, didn't see approaching due to being distracted. In fact, it almost slipped his mind.

But then he heard Namjoon open his mouth, and he flipped.

"You're the last person I want to see right now," Jin groaned, not even trying remotely to hide his exasperation. "For goodness' sake, don't you get tired of this crap?? You're driving me up a wall with this!! What part of no don't you understand?! Just leave me alone!!"

It struck like a bullet. Not sugar-coated in any way, raw, unfiltered exasperation that caused Namjoon's countenance to grow pale, his eyes sparking with guilt and heartbreak like two simultaneous blows to the head. He looked like a kicked puppy, and Jin had been the one to kick that puppy.