TORMENT.
severe physical or mental suffering

.❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

       "DANG, MIRI," Jisung sighed, placing his glass of water down on the kitchen island. "It's been a while."

        "Yeah," the female hummed back, pulling out a bar stool and positioning herself in a comfortable sit.

        Miri and Jisung have known each other since diapers.

        Miri's mom is a fellow surgeon, who worked side-by-side Jisung's mom at the same hospital. The two have been inseparable since, and have always stuck together through times of difficulty.

Miri's mother was first to marry, and a couple months later she brought Miri into the world.

It was the same gist for Jisung's mom, except it was all a year later, as Miri was older than Jisung for only one year.

Despite the age difference, the two kids ended up being best friends. Whenever their moms would meet up for a little get-together they'd always tag along, play games, and have fun.

But ever since their parents went on their US convention two months ago, they haven't seen each other since. And it has been a while since their parents last planned a small get-together, and Miri and Jisung live a tad bit far from each other. They also attend different schools, and will continue to.

However, that was no issue, as they always remained close friends, to the point where Jisung doesn't address Miri as noona. He disregarded the age gap and went for a more casual approach.

They grew up together, having similar interests, enjoying each other's company.

Miri is now eighteen, and Jisung is seventeen.

It's true that time flies by so fast.

It was as if yesterday they were only three year olds, running around the playground while their moms sat on the bench with their iced americanos.

It was as if yesterday they were only naive children, who cared less about the outside world and put their Minecraft gaming sessions as their first priority.

But look at them now.

They're all grown up.

They've grown up together.

You can say they've both grown fond of each other.

And Jisung may or may not have the tiniest crush on Miri.

"Earth calling Jisung, hello?", Miri said, waving her hand infront of the boy who was clearly spacing out.

Jisung snapped out of his daze, shaking his head. "U-Uhm, yeah?", he stammered, fidgeting on his seat, a tint of redness dusted on his cheeks.

"Aren't you gonna ask about your mom?", Miri questioned, raising a brow.

Holy shit.

Jisung was suddenly alarmed. The boy widened his eyes as he was about to spit out the water he just drank.

"Right!", Jisung yelled out, slamming his hand on the marble countertop and ignoring the pain.

"Where's mom?"

"Oh, so Mrs. Park did forget," Miri mumbled to herself, fiddling with the empty glass while tapping her slippers repeatedly against the tiled floor, creating a rhythm of some sort that kept on playing in her car ride on repeat that soon, it got stuck in her head.

"Forget what?!", Jisung screamed back for the nth time, this time lunging forward, determined to find out what on earth she was talking about.

Miri squirmed in her seat as Jisung's high-pitched screams enter her eardrums, a horrifying feeling indeed. She'll note to refrain from making this chicken yell again, or maybe remember to wear ear plugs the next time they talk.

"Stop," Miri huffed, sticking her fingers in her ears, afraid to lose her hearing abilities. "—screaming."

"I won't stop if you don't tell me the gist," Jisung protested, leaning back against the table and crossing his arms, giving Miri a pissed look.

Miri heaved a big sigh as she looked at Jisung, returning the same, annoyed look the boy was offering her.

"Alright."

The younger sat up straight, ready to receive all the information Miri was about to spill.

"Well," Miri started, tapping her finger on the kitchen island.

"Our moms were supposed to go back to Korea today, so my mom told me to ask my uncle, who I live with, to drive me over to your house. The original plan was that we'll have a little party or something, here at your house. She told me to bring some clothes incase we have a sleepover of some sort. My mom and Mrs. Park would grab a taxi together and get over here, and you know, talk and stuff, have fun, I dunno."

Jisung listened intently to Miri's explanation, hoping to find an answer to his questions.

"Your point?", Jisung asked, unable to find the whole gist of the story.

"Well the thing is," Miri let out a disappointed sigh.

"The flight was delayed till next week or so, because of this stupid storm."

Oh, right.

Jisung huffed, saddened about the situation.

"And if the weather isn't going to improve, then their flight will be delayed for who knows how long," Miri breathed out, really upset about the situation. She and Jisung have been expecting their moms' arrival ever since they departed Korea. Jisung wasn't used to this, not with his mom. He always depended on his mother especially while his dad was away, which is basically all the time. But with having no one to lean on, things were honestly difficult.

But when he had Chenle, he felt complete.

He didn't feel lonely.

Honestly speaking, he was the happiest he has been when he was with Chenle.

He was the reason for the smiles and laughs he let out.

He was the reason for his pink cheeks.

He was the reason for the butterflies in his stomach.

He was the reason why his heart would beat a hundred times faster than normal.

He was the reason he learned how to love again.

And then things started to collapse.

"Don't frown Jisung! I know things can get rough, but we can go through this together!", Miri exclaimed, trying her best to cheer up the sulking boy.

Jisung hummed, still being upset about certain things.

"Ugh." Miri groaned. "I'm sleepy~", she whined, a yawn escaping her lips. She ran a hand through her wet hair as she got on her feet and balanced herself. "I'll get going," she spoke, fixing her fuzzy blue pajamas while walking away. "Goodnight~"

Jisung took a last sip from his glass and heaved a big sigh, gently placing it down the countertop making a faint clicking sound.

His headache is kicking in again.

The boy clicked his tongue in frustration as he rested his head on the marble table and shut his eyes tight, clutching his head as it was aching badly.

"Urgh...", Jisung groaned, his thumbs massaging his temples, determined to soothe his hurting headache.

Quick hint—that didn't quite work out like how he anticipated.

Jisung let out pained grunts as beads of sweat accumulated on his forehead, slowly trickling down his cheeks and neck.

He was so, so dizzy.

As much as he wanted to just sleep right at the spot, he still had to take a quick bath, and maybe try not to slip while at it.

Lifting his head up, he narrowed his eyes down, limiting his field of vision as even seeing would cause his head to spin madly like some plane propellers.

He slammed his hands on the kitchen island, supporting his body and preventing him from collapsing right back. Carefully, he placed one foot down, immediately feeling the weight of his whole body, which oddly felt burdensome to him.

His grip on the counter tightened as he felt his body lose balance, quickly landing with two feet on the ground.

Jisung pants heavily as he struggles to stand up straight, his chest heaving up and down at a rapid pace. His brown bangs stick on his forehead as he sheds more sweat both on his forehead and on his shaky hands.

Exhaustion struck his body as he takes another excruciating step, his head spinning madly and his vision getting blurry.

A sneeze escaped his lips which caused his body to jump ever so slightly, but even the slightest motion was enough to get his system to go overdrive.

He took another heavy step, and he could feel his body giving up on him.

Jisung felt weak on his knees, his legs feeling wobbly like jelly and his bones and muscles aching badly.

The boy puffed his cheeks as his chest heaved up and down rapidly, his breathing getting heavier and shallower.

His head continued to spin at a monstrous rate.

He shut his eyes tight.

And taking another step,

All he could see was darkness.

.❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

        ❀ | a/n !
— surprisingly even if im in vacation i was still able to write a relatively long chapter
— HYUCKHAN !