𝐋𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐌𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬 ʰʸᵘᶰᶜʰᵃᶰ

❀

Classes were very strange now and took an incredibly long time. Especially the classes in which Hyunjin should have been present. Part of me wanted to ask him how he was feeling. Another part of me thought it was stupid since he couldn't hear. And I wasn't yet proficient in sign language. On the other hand, I could have written it down. But he wasn't there. In none of the classes.

"Oh, hey Jeongin. Come sit with us."

Felix moved away from me to make room for another boy who sat down between us. He had to be Jeongin, Felix's friend and also one of Hyunjin's friends. The first thing I noticed about him was his smile. It was contagious.

"Thanks, Felix. Both of my friends are not there today, so I'm all alone."

"In such moments you have us", Felix said and placed some pieces of meat on Jeongin's rice. "You can come to me at any time."

Jeongin watched his movement and smiled contently. "Thank you, hyung." He looked over at me.

"You must be Chan, right? Felix talks about you a lot." He held out his hand to me, which I didn't quite notice. I just nodded my head.

"Hi."

It was probably rude not to shake his hand, but he pulled it back just before I realized that he had held it out anyway.

"And you're.. Jeongin?"

He also nodded. "Right. Yang Jeongin."

"Are you friends with Hyunjin?", I asked out of nowhere. That seemed rude now, for sure.

Jeongin looked at me a little confused, but nodded again. "I am. Why?"

I shrugged and turned away from him to eat my food. He did the same and I sensed that he now felt a little out of place between me and Felix.

"Where's Hyunjin anyways? Me and Chan talked about him yesterday. What happened to him is really-"

"Felix", I interrupted his sentence. "I can't think of a reason why it would be important to talk about that now."

Jeongin chuckled. "Oh, that's fine. We also talk about you all the time, so we're kinda even."

"You talk about me?" I cocked my head, now clearly more curious than before.

"Ever since you sat down next to Hyunjin in art class, it's been going on like this. Chan here. Chan there. He always only talks about you", Jeongin explained, rolling his eyes with a slight smile. "He said he totally freaked out when you sat down next to him."

"He talks?"

"Obviously not to you, but yes." He stuffed his mouth with rice. "It's not like he's been deaf forever. He constantly trains his speech so that he doesn't forget how to use it."

"Okay, enough about Hyunjin now. How have you been doing, Jeongin? We should hang out some time." Felix quickly ended the topic, gaining Jeongin's attention back.

The younger  talked a lot about himself; he had been to Greece with his family the past vacation and also taught himself how to play the guitar in just three weeks.

He reminded me of Felix, the way he told him about his vacation. Like a waterfall, he talked non-stop. I had the feeling he didn't even pause to breathe. It made sense why Felix liked him so much. They seemed very similar when it comes to their personalities.

"Oh, and Seungmin is fine too. He is probably at Hyunjin's, taking care of him", Jeongin continued.

"Ah right. I haven't spoken to Seungmin in ages either. Jesus, I should really spend more time with my old friends." A little embarrassed, Felix scratched his forehead. "I'm sorry we're not as much in contact as we used to be."

"Oh, it's fine." Jeongin patted his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "Maybe everything will turn back to how it was in the past from now on."

After the break I went back to the lockers to get my books for the next class. I stood there for a while, looking at the name tag on the locker next to mine. Hwang Hyunjin. Poor boy.

"What are you doing there?"

I turned around a bit startled. A boy was standing behind me, I recognized him. He always sat at the table with Hyunjin, too. Then he must have been Seungmin.

"Nothing?"

"Is that a question?" He crossed his arms and looked at me a little pejoratively.

"No, I was doing nothing." I mean, that was the truth. I just stood there, looking at the name tag.

"Get out my way", he hissed, pushing me aside so he could reach the locker behind me. He opened it and took out a few books, including the notebook that Hyunjin always had with him in his classes.

"Did Hyunjin ask you to get his books?", I asked him. Maybe I should have just been quiet, but somehow it bothered me that he was taking stuff out his locker just like that.

He closed it, louder than necessary, and looked at me one last time before turning away from me. "I think that's none of your damn business."

With that he left.

So now he could have just taken Hyunjin's books without Hyunjin's permission, and I wouldn't have known? Something felt really wrong but I didn't bother asking him about it. It was Hyunjin's friend after all, so I could trust him. Even though he was pretty nasty.

And again, the rest of the day passed way too slowly for my taste. At home, I lay on my bed or sat on the couch. It was an undecided back and forth. Somehow I had to pass time, but there was nothing I could do.

Not until I got a notification from Instagram, saying that I got a new follower.

Guess who it was.