sunoo's heart wouldn't stop racing even after jay drove him home that night. they were supposed to go back to play billiards with jay's friends, but sunoo had to make an excuse to finish his due homework so the older made sure to drive him back to his house.

he almost got scared. his heartrate remained high until jay bid goodbye to him. he feels himself shaking as he opened the gate and slowly walked inside their house. he was praying that his parents and sibling are asleep already.

be calm... stay calm...

sunoo quickly made his way towards his room and lay on his bed. he took his uniform top off, leaving his inner shirt, then he grabbed the inhaler placed over the bedside table.

still a bit shaking, sunoo managed to breathe deeply through the inhaler. he felt his chest tighten, so he had to sit up and lean on the wall of his bed.

you're gonna be okay, sunoo. you're fine. just breathe.

------

[ 🐶💗 ]

🐶💗:
hey sun
are you home now?
i'll send you some notes for the science quiz
sunny???

sunoo:
hi jake sorry for the late reply
yep i'm home alr

🐶💗:
you okay?

sunoo:
ofc 😄
why wouldn't i be?

🐶💗:
good
did you have fun with jay?

sunoo:
i did ^^
although i couldn't stay for long since there was too much smoke 😔
my heart beat go 📈📈📈

🐶💗:
what?!
jfc this is why i told you not to hang around with those people
how are you feeling now?

sunoo:
hey! what's wrong with them?
they're good people
you don't have to worry about me every time
i'm totally okay 😁😁

🐶💗:
sunoo, this isn't a joke
i need you to take care of yourself too

sunoo:
and i'm doing that too
i can handle myself
please jake
let me have this
just this once

🐶💗:
...fine
it's not like i have a choice

sunoo:
thanks jakeyy 🥺
i wuv you 😚😚

🐶💗:
👍👍👍

---------

[ sunoo kim ]

sunoo kim:
good morning! ᕙ⁠(⁠ ⁠ ⁠•⁠ ⁠‿⁠ ⁠•⁠ ⁠ ⁠)⁠ᕗ

jay:
wow
you're up early today

sunoo kim:
nah, i'm not early
it's 6:30 now
i usually wake up around 5 am hehe

jay:
ah
that sucks

sunoo kim:
eh? i don't think so
i like waking up early
it means i get more time to do what i want ☺️

jay:
but you're sacrificing your sleep
sleeping is a must

sunoo kim:
lmao that's fine
it's not like i get a goodnight sleep either 🤷🏻

jay:
wdym

sunoo kim:
i usually have a hard time sleeping

jay:
insomnia? you should try drinking tea
or having a warm bath can help you sleep too

sunoo kim:
wow you know a lot huh
i didn't expect that from you lol

jay:
that sounds insulting
i'm offended

sunoo kim:
NO I'M SORRY 😭
but i'll try doing your suggestions ^^

jay:
👍
if you can't sleep just text me
i can keep you company until you fall asleep

sunoo kim:
aw thanks jongseongie ʕ⁠っ⁠•⁠ᴥ⁠•⁠ʔ⁠っ

jay:
whatever

sunoo kim:
btw
have a great day! and don't skip classes 😤😤

jay:
you too, sunoo

--------

"uh... jay?"

jay raised an eyebrow when he heard a familiar yet annoying voice, in front of him. he tried his best to sit quietly at the back of the room even though he was itching to ditch the class.

the fuck does this prick want?

he glanced at sunghoon, looking grim. "what?"

"well, we're having a family dinner later..." sunghoon glanced at him warily. "your father wants you to be there-"

"it's your family dinner, so why am i gonna be there? you're not my family."

"jay please... just this once-" jay threw him a hateful look so he stopped talking.

"if you're doing this just because you want to clear your conscience, give it up." he stood up and grabbed his backpack.

"i already lost my family the moment you let your mother marry my father. so you don't have the fucking right to build the perfect family that you want- not when you just broke mine."

-------

[ partners in jail 🌷 ]

nishimura:
yo jay
wru going?

lee:
why what's happening

nishimura:
i just saw him walking through the corridors
oof he's riding his scooter
aaaand he's out of the premises 😬

lee:
what?
@park where are you?

nishimura:
dude he can't reply rn
he's driving 🧍🏻‍♂️

lee:
smth probably happened

nishimura:
someone named sunghoon pissed him off ig lol

lee:
how would u know that

nishimura:
oh come on
it doesn't take a lot of brain cells to guess who's making jay that mad 🤷🏻

lee:
ig ur right
but jay's going to be fine
let's just let him blow off some steam

nishimura:
i just snooped on their classroom and saw sunghoon
he's not limping
he doesn't have bruises too
so ig they didn't have a fight

lee:
wow u must be that nosy huh
don't you have a class?

nishimura:
i have a lot of free time 😁

--------

"gyu, i think you just copied the wrong answer." sunoo points on his paper. "this one is the answer to number 5. you're copying number 6."

"oh crap, thanks sun!" beomgyu hurriedly changed his answer before the time ran out.

sunoo just smiled at him and stared at the smart watch attached to his wrist. it seems like everything's back to normal. i guess i was just exhausted that time.

he felt his phone vibrate so he opened it under his desk.

his eyebrows furrowed when he read the notification. huh?

----------

[ jongseongie ]

jongseongie:
are you in class?
i'm outside of your school

sunoo:
what????
did u ditch ur class?

jongseongie:
yeah
sorry

sunoo:
no u don't have to be sorry
what's wrong?
r u okay?

jongseongie:
i'm ok
just pissed off

sunoo:
mhm
wait
i'll try to go out rn

jongseongie:
no nvm
just stay there and listen to your class or smth
???
did u go out alr

-------

jay stops texting sunoo when he sees the boy walking fast towards the gate of their school. he sighed, i shouldn't have bothered him. why did i even go here? i wasn't thinking straight.

he crossed the road and took a few steps to where sunoo is standing. the guard looks at him with a judging stare, as if he's going to do something illegal.

"jay! how are you?" sunoo walked closer to check him, his eyes scanning the older. "you alright?"

jay nodded quietly, while the guard was still looking at them. "kim, do you know this student? he's not allowed to enter the premises."

"y-yes sir! he's my friend, don't worry he won't get inside-"

"and you're not allowed to go outside at this hour too. it's not dismissal yet." the guard spoke in a matter-of-fact tone that got jay frowning a bit.

"i'm not doing that too," sunoo chuckled nervously. "we're just gonna talk for a bit..." the old man ignored him and walked to the other side of the gate, leaving the two alone.

"uhm... so, why do you look mad?"

jay stared at the boy in front of him- sunoo's hazel eyes looked like they were going to pierce him.

"remember the person i told you that i hate? he pissed me off earlier so i had to skip class. usually i'll just punch him, but i don't want another detention so i just left. i don't want to see his face."

sunoo nods, listening. he then tiptoes and reached the top of jay's head and gave him a light pat.

"you did great, jay. you avoided the negative energy." he smiled brightly that his eyes almost disappeared.

sunoo's warm hand was still patting jay's head.

jay lets out a soft chuckle. "thanks, although i still ditched my other classes."

"doesn't look like you regret it though." sunoo laughed. right now, his heart is beating like crazy. but he feels calm. i feel happy. is this because of jay?

"anyways, i think you should head back to your class. i don't want to be a bad influence on you." jay steps back to give space between them.

"thank you for sparing me time... and for listening." he smiled genuinely.

sunoo paused for a bit, admiring jay's smile. i think it's the first time i've seen that kind of smile on his face.

he smiled back. "you're welcome. just... text me if you want someone to talk to, okay? bye!" he waved his hand whilst running back to his classroom.

he's always so bright. he probably never had a problem in his life. jay sighed.

thank you, for making me feel better.

-------

guess who's back 🧍🏻‍♂️

i'm really sorry if the update is slow (hella slow) 🥹 it's just that i'm having a bit of a problem when it comes to writing multiple stories at the same time ;-; it's harder to connect to the characters especially when i'm in different books (e.g., OLYB and also Paper Hearts) 😅 it's like i have to re-program my brain to fit each story's theme, genre, and also the overall vibes of the characters 🥲

so please bear with me as i have trouble figuring out how i could make this work lmao but i will still update from time to time so no worries ^^