Chapter Text
He's standing there, just the same as two years ago.
But something is different now. He looks different now.
What is it? Why can't I place it? He's...
Taller
Wider
Confident
Last time he was in that exact same spot, he was barely 16 years old. He was standing behind his parents while they told Hyunjin to take care of his health and make safe choices in school. He was trying his best to look like he didn't care his brother was going off to college. But I could see the tears he was holding back in his eyes from all the way over here.
I remember seeing his body tensing as Hyunjin made his way down the line, hugging his parents first. He knew it was his turn to say goodbye to his brother. I remember Hyunjin standing in front of him and giving him a little shove, the two brothers too awkward to want to hug each other. Their mom was forcing the two to embrace and saying something like 'hug your brother, you won't see him for a while'.
And I distinctly remember Hyunjin saying, 'come here, you little twerp' and pulling him into a small hug. He hugged back and I could see his knuckles turn white as he gripped Hyunjin's hoodie tight around his back.
I don't really know what it's like to have a brother. Especially not a little one. But I guess he was the closest thing I had to one.
And now I can't see it. I can't see the little brother in him today.
All I see is an 18-year-old stranger. Someone I can't recognize despite growing up with him for over 10 years. He was his own man, not just a nerdy kid following his brother and me around.
No more braces.
No more acne.
No more bowl cut.
No more oversized plaid hoodie.
No more unconfident shyness.
Sigh
I guess the little twerp grew up in the past 2 years.
Minho leaned against a tree, just out of sight, watching them with his arms crossed over his broad chest. And as the parents drove away, the same as they did 2 years ago, he pushed away from the tree, arms uncrossing. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and sighed again, knowing it was time to say hi to Jisung after 2 years.
He didn't know why he felt uneasy seeing Jisung from a distance now. Maybe he just didn't like the transformation Jisung went through, and he wasn't there to see it.
It was too sudden. Too unexpected for him.
Minho had planned on treating Jisung the same as he always had. But now, he could tell it wouldn't be the same.
He walked toward the two brothers, watching Hyunjin with one hand in his pockets and the other holding his phone, while Jisung tried to carry his backpack, duffle bag and a suitcase by himself.
As he approached, Minho saw a flash of innocent fear flash through Jisung's eyes when he finally spotted him.
Minho smirked.
Oh, how Minho loved seeing that scared little boy look on Jisung's face.
I guess he's the same after all.
_________
Flashback
Jisung went off the trail, just as instructed, and quietly peeked behind the green shrubs and bushes.
"Where is the deer? I don't see anything," Jisung whispered to them in a hushed tone.
"Keep going, you'll see it," they said and snickered as they kept walking on the hiking trail.
"You guys are lying..." Jisung finally realized. He tsked, annoyed that he fell for their tricks again. He kept walking forward but didn't hear the other two anymore.
"Hyung?" Jisung said, panicked. He kept looking around, but his brother and Minho were nowhere in sight suddenly.
"This isn't funny... Hyung!" He yelled into the forest.
Jisung panicked even more.
It was getting dark, and he couldn't really see the trail anymore.
"Where are you guys?!"
Which way did he come from? Why did all the trees look the same?
"Hyung..." Jisung whispered to himself, knowing he would receive no response.
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"Where were you guys?!" Hyunjin's mom shouted as soon as Hyunjin and Minho walked into the cabin.
"We were looking for Jisung," Hyunjin replied, scared.
"Why did you guys separate? I told you all to stay together!"
"H-he split off. We couldn't find him!"
"That's because he was in a lake, Hyunjin!"
Hyunjin and Minho looked at each other, panicked with wide eyes.
"What?? Where is he?" Hyunjin asked, shocked.
"He's at the hospital with your dad," she explained.
"Is he okay?" Hyunjin panicked even more.
"No, he almost froze to death because you two left him... Again!"
"I-"
"I don't wanna hear another word," his mom stopped him. "When are you gonna grow up and start acting like a big brother? He's only 16! He's just a kid!"
"Mom I wasn't trying to-"
"Seriously Hyunjin, you and Minho, you two...," She sighed at the barely 18-year-old kids looking at the floor. "Jisung could've really gotten hurt this time."
The two didn't dare say another word and merely watched his mom pack some things for the hospital.
She sighed and closed her eyes in frustration. "At least go start the car. I can't drive right now," she whispered.
And the pair ran off to the car immediately. Hyunjin sat in the driver seat with Minho sitting in the back behind him.
Hyunjin gripped the steering wheel and met Minho's eyes in the rearview mirror. They both looked at each other with matching grim and guilty expressions through the mirror.
"You think he's fine?" Hyunjin asked Minho, worried.
"Sounds like it. We'd both be dead by now if he wasn't," Minho responded, equally worried but trying to console his partner in crime.
They watched as Hyunjin's mom walked over to the car with a few small bags in her hand.
"You think he told?" Minho asked Hyunjin in a whispered tone.
"We'd both be dead by now if he did," Hyunjin sighed.
"We really fucked up this time..." Minho groaned, throwing his head back on the seat headrest.
"Yeah..." Hyunjin agreed, "We're fucking assholes."
His mom put the bags in the trunk and got in the passenger seat. Hyunjin drove them to the hospital, and no one said a single word for the entire ride. He could see his mom with tears in her eyes, worried hand on her forehead.
Minho thought back to that moment where he watched Jisung disappear into the forest. His heart pounded in anxiousness and he internally cringed when he remembered telling Hyunjin 'let's keep going' jokingly as they continued on the hiking trail without Jisung.
Once they arrived, Hyunjin and Minho peeked their head in the room where Jisung laid while their parents were talking to the nurse outside.
Minho looked at Jisung sitting on the hospital bed, eyes puffy and red.
He had bandages all over his arms and shoulders. Some small ones on his face. Jisung looked pale and bruised. But he was alive.
They both walked over hesitantly.
"Hey twerp..." Hyunjin said carefully, "You okay?"
Jisung looked away, arms crossed.
Hyunjin sighed. "You never gonna talk to me again?" He tried again.
Jisung hmphed.
"We brought your favorite candy," Minho offered, holding up the small bag of treats they found at the hospital gift shop.
Jisung glared at them, eyes red with anger.
"You really think candy will make me hate you guys less?" Jisung whispered angrily at the duo. "You guys left me! In the middle of the forest!"
Their parents opened the door to came back inside and Jisung quickly straightened out his posture on the bed, looking away again.
"Honey, can you tell us what happened?" His mom asked gently.
Jisung didn't say a word.
"If you don't tell us exactly what happened, we don't know if there's anything else to treat kiddo," his dad added. "Like, did you hit your head?"
Hyunjin and Minho stood stiffly by the bed. It turned out that Jisung hadn't said a word to the adults. That's the reason why the two were not dead already.
"Can you at least say your symptoms?" The doctor interjected. "We treated the obvious stuff, but anything else before we let you go?"
Jisung sighed and bit his lip. He didn't want to be rude to the doctor by not speaking.
"I decided to go off the trail while hiking and then I got lost," Jisung explained, earning two shocked looks from Hyunjin and Minho.
"An hour later I saw a cabin by the lake and thought I should ask for help because it was dark already," Jisung continued, "I tried to take a shortcut, but it was muddy and slippery. I fell and twisted my ankle. Then I dropped my backpack in the water. Then I fell in the lake trying to get it back. Then the grandpa from the cabin heard me shouting and got me out of the lake and called for the ambulance because he said I was going to freeze."
"Okay, see if you don't tell us where you're hurting, we won't know," The doctor said and checked his ankle, twisting and turning it slightly. "Doesn't look so bad, but we'll get it wrapped and taken care of. Anything else you wanna tell us since you're finally talking now?"
"No, that's all. Thanks for saving me," Jisung said politely and bowed.
"You're welcome Jisung. Stick with your hyungs next time. They'll protect you," the doctor advised.
The adults left the room together again to finish up the discharge documents and Jisung was back to being mad at the two.
Jisung scoffed. "Hyungs my ass," he whispered. "Protect me? Not in a million years."
"You okay?" Minho asked this time.
"Do I look okay to you guys?" He shot back.
They looked down. No matter how much they may tease him, they never actually wanted him to get hurt.
"Why do you guys always leave me behind? What did I ever to do, huh?" Jisung asked, voice laced with sadness and anger.
"Nothing, you didn't do anything," Hyunjin said sadly.
"You guys hate having me around that much?"
"No, we like having you with us," Minho explained.
Jisung scoffed again. "Yeah right, you only keep me around because mom makes you or so you can bully me for your entertainment."
The guys didn't say anything.
"I'm glad you guys are leaving for college next week," Jisung whispered, tears in his eyes.
But he would never shed a single tear in front of these guys. They would never let him live it down.
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"Just don't cause too much trouble, Hyunjin," his dad said while packing the car with Hyunjin's dorm things.
"Yes sir," Hyunjin replied, while rolling his eyes.
"Don't say that honey, he's a good kid," his mom added with a smile.
"Well, I'm just saying... You and Minho are a scary combo sometimes. I don't want any calls from jail. I'm not bailing you two out," his dad explained, half joking.
"Yes, make safe and smart choices," his mom agreed.
"Yes ma'am," Hyunjin nodded.
"Where is Minho anyway? I thought we would drop him off together with you today," his dad asked Hyunjin.
"He had his parents drop him off yesterday," Hyunjin replied while throwing his backpack in the trunk.
"He left already?" Jisung asked urgently and froze by the car door just as he was about to enter.
"Yeah, he's at the dorm already," Hyunjin replied, slamming the trunk closed. "Let's go, by the time I get to the dorm, he will be at the orientation. I gotta drop my stuff and meet him there."
"He won't be at the dorm either?" Jisung asked quietly.
"No, he's gonna be at orientation. I just told you. We're too busy today to bully you, relax," Hyunjin replied quickly, hopping in the car.
Jisung remained outside for several seconds. "I didn't get to say bye..." Jisung whispered to himself, gripping the door handle tight.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to ignore the pain in his chest.
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