Chapter Text
Ever since Jisung met Hyunjin, they were hating each other. Nobody could quite figure out why they weren’t getting along. Whenever they asked one of the boys, they wouldn’t elaborate any further. Just saying they hate each other and that’s all. For Jisung, it was obvious. Hyunjin was annoying and a smartass. He didn’t have to like every person in his life, so don’t judge him. It was so awkward that they shared the same friend group, most of the time avoiding the shared hangouts if they knew the other one was there. It went on like this for an entire first year of university. Constant bickering, throwing hands and they even got into a fight twice when they were alone. Their friends gave up long ago on trying to help them get along. Yet today was one of those days when it was impossible for them to avoid one another. Because Jisung was hanging out with Chan and Changbin in Chan’s flat when the rest of their friends barged in with Hyunjin.
“You didn’t tell me the loveless sucker would be here,” Hyunjin scoffed, looking at Felix and Jisung rolled his eyes
“At least I won’t get STD from fucking around with half of the campus,” he talked back
Ever since Hyunjin overheard him and Minho talking, he always mentioned Jisung’s inability to love anyone. Yeah, Jisung never had a crush or been in love for his entire life. He would go this far to even say he never felt love. Even with his parents. He liked them for sure, but viewed them more like roommates that gave him money. Some people found it weird, but he’s been like this his entire life and was okay with it. His relationships were an interesting thing. Sometimes he forgot about his friends for a few days and then came back with the tail between his legs, apologizing. But they were always understanding, saying everyone needs time off. Because they knew Jisung would be there for them no matter what. He just had poorly developed social skills.
“At least someone wants me” Hyunjin didn’t stop there, standing in the doorframe, with his arms crossed over his chest
“More like they want your pretty face,” Jisung could feel the pain in his chest and blamed it on being so annoyed “If they found out what type of person you are, no one would let your dick close to them”
“Alright guys, I think it’s enough” Seungmin stepped in, motioning Hyunjin to the other side of the room “Can we for once hang out in peace?”
Jisung backed off from the argument, not wanting to piss his friends more. He wanted Hyunjin’s life to become a misery, not theirs. But from the time Hyunjin came, the atmosphere in the room was so thick, you could cut the air with an axe. So Chan excused him and Jisung under the pretext of helping him with some music related stuff. They went to his room, but Jisung knew it wasn’t the case.
“Ji, why can’t the two of you try to get along?” Chan sat on the bed, holding his temples. “You can’t even tell us why you hate each other so much”
Jisung sighed and sat down in Chan’s chair. He knew well enough Seungmin was grilling Hyunjin the same way right now. That’s how it always goes. To the point that it became a routine incorporated into their shared hangouts. Their friends had a hard time with them, always planning how to hang out so the boys wouldn’t run into each other.
“I told you multiple times, I don’t have to like everyone,” he sighed. “He’s just annoying and thinks he’s better than me. I hate it when people have a bigger ego than IQ”
“You never tried to get to know him though,” why Chan always has to be so smart “He’s not as bad as you think. Even if I assume it’s hard for you to believe it”
Jisung shook his head and went silent. He didn’t like talking about Hyunjin or his own feelings and reasoning. Chan knew he wouldn’t get anything else out of him, so they were just sitting in silence. Allowing Jisung’s emotions to wind down so he could get back there and ignore Hyunjin instead of snapping every single minute. He was pretty sure he’d sneak out in less than an hour so he could get back to his dorm room. He couldn’t afford to live outside of campus like Chan and Changbin, who shared this flat. Luckily for him and his mental health, he didn’t have a roommate, so he could just scream into the pillow as long as he needed to.
“You know we love you, right?” Chan asked, because he had a feeling that what Hyunjin said earlier hurt his best friend.
Jisung looked at him and nodded. He was always curious how his friends could say something like this, but never asked. Maybe that’s what normal people were like? He always assumed his parents failed some socialization process when he was younger. That’s what you learn when you major in sociology, just like Jisung. It wasn’t even his parents’ fault because besides that; they raised him rather well, and they had a good relationship.
“Sometimes I wonder how and why, but I know,” he said after a moment
Chan laughed at his comment, and after a few more minutes, they were back. Neither Hyunjin nor Jisung spared any glance. They dived in the conversations that were interrupted previously. Jisung was talking with Chan and Changbin about the song they wanted to release, and he assumed Hyunjin was blabbering about some pathetic bullshit, as always. At some point, he heard a high pitch laugh that made his ears hurt and looked in Hyunjin’s direction. He was laughing at something Seungmin said and Jisung could feel the annoyance tightening his chest once again. Not to fully destroy the mood, he said he was going because he had a paper to finish. Which was partially true because he was procrastinating and had 2 days to finish a 5 pages long essay about how the city projects impact social classes or something like this. He wasn’t listening, so he’d have to check his notes. When he was already outside, the pain in his chest worsened, to the point he couldn’t catch a breath. He assumed it was another panic attack, so he quickly moved to some secluded area and sat down. Then it hit him, a coughing fit, the worst he ever had. If he was about to have a panic attack, then why was he coughing? He couldn’t stop it and it was so intense, combined with the pain in his chest, that he threw up.
“What the fuck?” he asked himself when he looked at his hand and saw flower petals. “But how?”
How did he get hanahaki when he couldn’t love anyone? And for who? What was going on in here?