Waiting Game | pjm ✓

06. Red

Jin's eyes traced the enormous fish tank to his left, admiring the diversity of tropical fish swimming in the water. That was the reason this table was his favorite in the whole restaurant – he could marvel at the underwater creatures all he wanted and his mind could get immersed at the sight the delicate colorful animals.

"Thank you." Jin's head swung to look at the waitress that had just brought his delicious looking steak, flashing her a charming smile. Flushed by his handsomeness, she scurried off with haste, stumbling on her own feet.

A little smile crept up on Jin's lips. He found it amusing how he made most women feel shy in his presence, yet it kind of made him bitter. Most girls felt intimidated by his appearance and dreaded to approach him, afraid that he'd reject them. But he wasn't that person. Despite his flawless looks, he was never arrogant or rude. He welcomed anyone who made an attempt at having a conversation with him, but people rarely saw past his exterior.

Deep in thought, Jin barely noticed when his right hand lost control of the knife he used to cut his steak. In a matter of seconds, the utensil mysteriously managed to rotate around his forefinger and the sharp blade landed on his left hand, leaving a deep cut in the skin of his thumb.

"Tsssk," Jin sucked in on his teeth, wincing from the immediate pain. Blood started coming out from the small wound, it appeared to be deep. His hand shot to grab a napkin, using it to apply pressure on the area and stop the bleeding. He chastised himself internally. He had always been clumsy, but no to the point of hurting himself.

Still pressing on the cut, Jin's attention was caught by movement at the door. A tall, slim red-haired man panned into view, a man Jin thought he wouldn't see any time soon.

"Hey-," Jin's words got caught in his throat when he tried raising his left arm to wave down at the man, but remembered about the wound. However, when he lifted the napkin, he noticed that the skin was perfectly intact. It was like there had never been as much as a scratch there. That was weird. The lesion was still vivid in his mind, it happened almost a minute ago. There was no way he was imagining it. The pain was still very present.

Jin realized he didn't have much time to dwell on that now when he noticed that the man was walking towards a back door behind the bar counter. "Hey, Hoseok! Hey!" Jin hollered, stretching out his arm as much as he could and waving energetically so that Hoseok would see him.

Slowly, Hoseok turned around, moving his eyes like they were heavy and it took him enormous effort to do so. His expression blank, not a single emotion painted over it at the sight of his long-time friend.

As Hoseok approached him, Jin couldn't help but notice how different he seemed with his sunken eyes and pale complexion, the red color of his hair only enhancing his worn-out look. A sense of deja-vu washed over him as his heart sank. This version of Hoseok seemed like a phantom copy of him in comparison to his previous vibrant and lively self.