Seedlings & Blossoms. (Ex-Mafia!Jinki-Centered)

Note: This is based on this character: Jinki.
!!TW: Mentions of violence, death, loss, guilt, and light drinking. I think that's it. Please, enjoy!
 

With the window of the classroom open, at least one of them, he can feel the breeze coming in and he can smell the blossoms blooming on the tree right outside. That same breeze that carries a few petals into the room. Those same little pink and white petals that bring him into a fit of sneezing and turn everything he was just writing on the board into unintelligible scribbles. By the time he finishes sneezing, he can’t even remember what it is that he was writing.

 

After taking a moment to steady himself, having walked in circles trying to figure out where to sneeze so that he didn’t sneeze on the board, he takes a step back from the blackboard and looks it over. He instinctively brings his hand up to cradle the side of his head and pauses for a moment as he realizes it’s the hand with the chalk in it instead of the other one. He sets the chalk down on the ledge and starts dusting his hand off on his pants before trying to dust his hair out, convinced there are remnants of chalk in the strands. He’d be correct even though he can’t see where they are so he’s just wiping everywhere until he’s convinced himself now that it’s all gone.
 

It’s not.
 

He reaches out to grab the chalk again but hesitates, trying to remember what he needs to write this time before picking up the tiny stick. Once he remembers, he erases the illegible nonsense and rewrites what he wanted. Feeling satisfied, he grabs his things to head to his office. He unlocks the door and slides it open, stopping as he hears someone calling him in a rushed voice. He looks over after spotting a student in his peripheral running up to him.
 

“Professor Lee-!” The kid is winded even though he didn’t come from that far, it didn’t seem as though he did anyway.
 

“Hamin, are you all right,” Jinki asks with full concern, “Were you looking for me?”
 

“I was... I was,” Hamin exhales, hands on his knees before he’s finally standing up again, “I-I... I came to your office earlier but you weren’t here so I thought I’d check again before I leave.”
 

“You could just see me tomorrow. I know you don’t have my class on Fridays but I’ll still be here,” he gestures for his student to enter his office and then follows behind him.
 

“I’m not going to be here to--tomorrow,” he breathes and Jinki offers him a bottle of water from the small stack he has in the corner by his desk, “I have to go back to my hometown tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, I see. Well, I hope that you have a safe trip.”
 

“Thank you,” Hamin says, for both the water and the gracious words.
 

There’s a bit of silence as Hamin sips some water. Jinki watches him for a second and then furrows his brows before finally speaking up.

“Hamin... Why were you looking for me...?”
 

“Hm? Oh! I was going to ask if I could get the assignment that you gave out in class today.”
 

“That’s right. You weren’t in class today either... Are you sure everything is okay?”
 

Hamin is silent and that’s not unusual for him but the way that he kind of abruptly freezes, as if Jinki had asked the wrong question, is unsettling enough. Jinki doesn’t push and starts looking for the assignment from Hamin’s class. He’s still shuffling through things when his student speaks up again.
 

“I, um... Professor Lee...?”
 

“Hm?”
 

The younger male has spaced out again and it causes Jinki to look at him with even more concern than before.
 

“Hamin, what is it?”

 

“You don’t remember me?”

“Remember you? No, I’m... I’m sorry I don’t. From where?”

“You were best friends with my dad.”
 

“Your dad? Who,” Jinki pauses and his body responds before his brain catches up as to why, a pain starting in his chest. The best way to describe it would be that slow creaking noise a door makes when you open it slowly, “Park Hamin... I...”

 

Hamin chuckles and shakes his head, “It’s okay, professor. It’s been a long time.”

 

“Right. The last time I saw you I think you were still in grade school.”

 

“It’s been ten years.”

 

“Has it been that long since I’ve been back home...?”

 

“Yeah,” Hamin answers softly, looking down, “I’m... I’m going back home to be with my mom for the weekend. It’s the anniversary of dad’s death so...”

 

“It is. You’re right.”

 

“You should come visit this weekend, if you can,” he offers the older male with a smile, “Mom would be happy to see you again. Also, she tried that process of turning the ashes into beads. I don’t know if you’d want any but I’m sure she’d give you some.”

 

Jinki knows what that means. He’s a little saddened by the news because that means that he can’t go to the columbarium anymore to pay his respects but he knows it also isn’t his place to say anything. Close or not, he was just a friend. His friend’s family has the right to do what they want with his ashes.

 

“That was you that was going to visit him, wasn’t it? Putting new flowers in and dusting off the pictures?”

 

Jinki manages to look at the young male and nods firmly, smiling softly at him, “It was. Did your mom always take the flowers?”

 

“Yes! She knew the daisies were for her. They’re her favorites.”

 

“I remember. Your dad always told me that. Whenever he’d visit, he made sure to always take back a bouquet of them for her.”

 

They’re both quiet, silently reminiscing on the days when Hamin’s father, Jinki’s childhood best friend, was still alive. He was a warm, kind man. Very quiet but always thinking, always considerate and always ready to help. He’d never been too adventurous and, in the beginning, when Jinki had first moved away from home, they were both worried they would never see each other again or that they’d lose contact. They did all they could to keep in contact though and would alternate visiting each other. It wasn’t too long of a journey but it was long enough. Eventually, Jinki had gotten too tied up with work and it was getting harder to head back home. His friend would come into town whenever that happened. Jinki would always apologize for making him take the journey but would treat him to delicious food and drinks. Thinking back on it all, he always wonders if his friend would still be alive had he never traveled to Seoul to meet up with him or if he had never moved away...

 

He questions all the possibilities because there was no other reason for him to have come to town except for Jinki and, because of that, he’d ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and met his end.

 

This isn’t the time or the place to be having these thoughts so he just swallows them, his gaze gentle and expression just as soft as he looks at Hamin. He sees his best friend’s face in there and it just makes him smile. He hasn’t had Hamin in his class long since the younger had transferred universities a few months before. It felt like a slap in the face at just how grown Hamin had become, showing just how much time had really gone by. How much time he’d spent giving his time, heart and effort to people that didn’t deserve him. That didn’t bat an eye for killing someone innocent. Jinki hadn’t even been around to see it but he found out soon enough what had happened.

 

“I have time on Saturday. You can tell your mom I’ll come up this weekend, if that’s okay?”

 

“I’ll tell her when I get home! She’ll be really happy to see you, you know?”

 

Jinki tilts his head, smiling, “Why would she be happy to see me?”

 

“Because I was, too. We missed you coming to see us. You were like an uncle to me. I’ve always looked up to you and dad so I was hoping when I saw your name that it really was you.”

 

Jinki chuckles and gently ruffles Hamin’s hair, who clearly doesn’t mind the gesture at all, “And you knew I was a professor? How would you know that?”

 

“Dad told me about you wanting to become a professor a long time ago. He always told me that if I can’t be like him, I should be like you.”

 

Jinki looks confused and Hamin smiles brightly at him, seemingly reassuring him without even realizing it. It seems intentional at the same time though. Hamin can clearly sense something is going on but he doesn’t know what it is. He just wants to make sure Jinki knows he’s doing well.

 

“My dad always thought you were so cool, too. His cool best friend from the city who could read and write really well. He told us all kinds of stories about when he would come to visit you, about being in the city and the awesome things you would show him.”

 

The older male gives Hamin a doting smile. He really is like his father and it’s painful in a way but Jinki finds it much more healing instead. He couldn’t protect his father but, seeing Hamin now after all this time, he just wants to make sure he stays protected. He wants to protect his mother, too. The both of them feel like all he has left and that wouldn’t be too far off.

 

Jinki gets the information about the assignment from his satchel and hands it over. Hamin quickly gets out a notebook from his backpack and starts writing down everything. They’re both quiet as he does so before he’s finally handing it back to him. Hamin gets his bag zipped up and then sits there for a moment. Jinki raises a brow, wondering if he’s okay.

 

“Can I... Can I give you a hug?”

 

Jinki laughs warmly and stands up, nodding, “You can, Hamin.”

 

Hamin’s expression brightens up and he hops right up to hug his professor. Hamin even hugs like his dad did and it comes close to making Jinki cry but he doesn’t. He just embraces the younger male and gives him some additional pats on the back.

 

“I’m here whenever you need me, okay?”

 

Hamin doesn’t lean away, looking like he wants to cry when he finally does. Jinki just pats his head and smiles wider.

 

“When I visit this weekend, I’ll make sure your mom has my number, too, so both of you can reach me whenever you want.”

 

“We’re going to make you a big meal, okay!?”

 

“All right, all right. Go on and get out of here. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

 

Hamin nods firmly and sneaks in one last hug before running off. Jinki sits back down and takes a few deep breaths. He’ll be seeing Hamin for at least the rest of the year, he’s sure. At the same time though, he’s looking forward to it. Knowing Hamin and his mother are well and taken care of are the most important to him and, now, he has a way of making sure of that.