hold me ♡ minsung

05. lunch with buddies

♡

SEPTEMBER 5.

   Hyunjin had left the room within the next few minutes, without unpacking a single box, to go hang out in the Jilix room and see what they were up to. 

   With the room quiet, Minho had nothing to distract himself from his exhaustion. He groaned and slipped off the bed and scooped up his roll of bedding. He forced his tired body to bend to his will and cover the uncomfortable mattress in a sheet, a blanket, and a pillow, fighting off the urge to just fling himself over it while it was uncovered, because all he could think about when he looked at it was all the assorted dead skin cells and other disgusting things that were definitely covering it. Then, he tugged the cord of the blinds on the window until it was dark enough, and after that he couldn't delay it any longer and fell asleep, lying curled up on the bed.

   He woke up to Hyunjin calling his name. Hyunjin seemed timid, maybe a bit nervous to wake him. He was just poking his head into the room, so the door was partly open and he could hear noisy students shuffling around the hallway. "You coming down for lunch?" 

   Sitting up hurriedly and rubbing bleary eyes, Minho yawned, feeling his nap was insufficient. He only slept two hours or so. "Mm... Yeah, coming," He grumbled, attempting to mask his embarrassment at Hyunjin seeing him like that, knocked out, body curled around his pillow.

   Hyunjin nodded and closed the door, and it was quiet again. Only then did Minho realize he still had his shoes on, probably dirtying his blanket. He sighed. Not like he was going to wash it just for that, anyway. 

   His body felt stiff, but he stood anyway and dug his student ID out of his backpack. He was a bit late, so luckily he'd mostly missed the initial lunch rush of students filing out of their rooms to fill their stomachs as a break from unpacking, or perhaps taking naps like Minho. 

   His stomach growled as he descended the last flight of stairs and walked past the lobby, partly following his nose to where the smell of warm food was strongest. The cafeteria was nicer than he'd expected, and definitely nicer than the ones of his middle and high school days. It felt more like a restaurant than a cafeteria, with its booths and cushioned chairs and fancy light fixtures hanging over each table. Better than all of that was the smell of the food. 

    There was hardly a line at the food bar; almost all the students were already seated and gushing about the taste. Minho filled a tray with a few of the various lunch options, picking out a steaming, pressed sandwich and a couple of sides. 

   Most of the tables were filled, so he stood in the middle of the room, scoping out an empty place to sit. Motion caught his eye— a waving hand. It was Chan's.

    Chan was grinning, happily beckoning Minho over. 

   Minho had expected to sit by himself for a quiet, mostly comfortable lunch, but then again, maybe sitting with people he knew would be nice. He wore the makings of a happy smile for just a second and walked across the room to join Chan's table. Of course, all of the high school kids were gathered there: Bang Chan, Changbin, Hyunjin, Jisung, Felix, and Seungmin. It was a little strange— nice, but strange: it almost felt as if this one table was a bubble, inside which everything was normal and at least a little familiar, and outside was a slightly terrifying, unknown new world. Inside felt safe. Safe enough, anyway.

   Chan slid over to make room for Minho at the end of the booth, pushing Felix and Jisung over like dominoes. It was only meant to seat two or three people, so Felix and Jisung were squished onto each other, and Chan was pressing into Felix slightly, while Minho had room enough to comfortably spread his legs without touching anyone. Still, it felt a little cramped, and Minho felt a little uneasy about being so close. Maybe it would've been better to sit alone, after all.