JEONGIN stared at Mal's screen in shock, unsure if his eyes were playing tricks on him or not. The picture of Felix kissing another girl, a girl that wasn't Mal, remained before his eyes, and the words written on the screen were just like a stab in the back.

"Your boyfriend Felix chose me instead, and we're very happy together. He doesn't want you anymore. Goodbye."

He swallowed and began typing.

"You must be mistaken. My friend Felix died around two weeks ago, along with my other six friends. This has to be a mistake. You have the wrong number."

A few minutes passed before a bubble with three dots popped up, declaring that the other person was typing back.

"Aww is this Jeongin? No, I'm not mistaken. Felix is pretty much alive and your others friends are as well. Maybe you weren't their friend after all. Maybe they abandoned you, just like they did to Mal. Tell her I say hi, asshole, and go unalive yourself."

As soon as he read the words, he immediately dropped the phone onto the bed, causing it to make a flop sound, and began sobbing as if his life depended on it.

Why?

What did he do?

He remembered the very last sentence, which came from a hate comment on one of their popular lives before. He knew he became pretty sensitive because of that comment. Because it ruined his life.

What did he ever do wrong?

Why didn't his friends like him anymore?

It hurt, even when he tried to think of a clear reason.

His heart ached as a thought crossed his mind. He automatically realized that he didn't want his remaining friend to be hurt the same way.

He reached for her phone once again and scrolled through the messages, getting to that one specific message. From the anonymous number.

Then, reached for his own phone and snapped a quick picture of the message. After that, he proceeded to delete the conversation.

He knew that the truth would hurt noona. But he wanted to risk her getting mad at the fact that he went through her messages instead of the fact that her boyfriend decided to abandon her for that mysterious girl. Or the fact that their friends were alive and pretty much abandoned them both as well.

Truth hurt. It stung more than a thousand bee stings combined.

Tears continued to uncontrollably escape his eyes. His body began trembling, his shoulders shook with each sob. He allowed his hand to lose its grip over the phone and felt his body drop on the pillow behind him. He covered his head with his arms and continued to mutter pleas of confusion, loud sobs escaping his mouth.

What did he do to deserve that?

Why would everyone just abandon him like that?

He thought they died, for god's sake.

Mixed feelings of betrayal, pain and heartbreak overwhelmed him.

For the first time ever, he had no idea what to do. How should he react when he knew that his friends didn't want him anymore?

He continued to sob violently, running his hand through his soft, black hair.

Just, why?

It didn't take him long before his exhausted self passed out, two stream of tears staining the sides of his cheeks.

☂︎

Mal sighed heavily as she knocked on the door, her eyes dropping as soon as she realized that she wanted to sleep. When she heard a faint groan coming from inside the room, she unlocked the door and entered the room, a curious expression on her face.

She spotted Jeongin lying on the king-sized bed, hugging a nearby pillow.

"Hey, Innie, I'm back..." she spoke in a soft, warm tone. He faintly tossed himself around to the other side of the bed, and she could finally see his tear-stained cheeks, making her heart drop almost immediately.

"Innie? Innie, what's wrong? Were you crying?"

She hurried towards him and tugged a hand over his waist, making him reach for her hand in return. She wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug.

"Baby, what's wrong? Why were you crying?"

As soon as he heard the question, he let her go with one hand and reached up to wipe his face, the events from earlier crossing his mind.

And his heart ached once again.

"Innie..."

It took him a few moments to swallow the lump in his throat.

"I... I'm fine, noona. I just remembered something, that's all."

She was taken aback by the almost cold reply, which made her back away slightly.

He noticed, and bit his lower lip in immediate guilt. He sat up straight quickly and pulled her in an apologetic hug.

"I'm sorry, noona. I didn't mean to sound so rude."

She nodded, running her fingers through his soft hair.

"It's okay. Are you ready to tell me now?"

He shook his head, muttering a small apology. She whispered a few words of reassurance and tossed herself on the bed, and he quickly followed, hugging her waist tightly before he closed his eyes and drifted off.

"Goodnight, Innie."

He sent her a small smile.

"Good night, noona..."

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