Felicity (A Jikyu And Hajeongwoo Fanfic)

Chapter 13

The pros of being best friends is knowing when the other one is sad or disturbed even without any verbal communication about it and the cons of it is the everlasting feeling of discomfort when the reason behind the temporary suffering of the other is not known. As happened in Jihoon's case, from the moment Junkyu stepped foot inside the classroom on one fine day, Jihoon knew he was upset. Junkyu wasn't his usual bubbly self, he looked worn out, worried and distracted. Jihoon asked him about it the moment he sat down beside him, but Junkyu just shrugged it off. However, Jihoon saw no sign of change in Junkyu's unusual behaviour.

Even when the teacher left, Junkyu didn't talk. It was an unspoken routine of them to talk with each other to their heart's content, sometimes even including Mashiho as soon as the teacher leaves, but this time, Junkyu kept looking at his script on which he didn't even write a single word. Jihoon was concerned. He nudged Junkyu once or twice to which Junkyu nodded and even spoke some words, but Jihoon could tell how half-hearted everything sounded.

All the periods went by and Jihoon couldn't find out why Junkyu was acting that way. He kept thinking about what happened with Junkyu yesterday or the day before, but he couldn't find anything unusual, at least to his knowledge. But Junkyu isn't someone to act like that over anything silly. Something must have happened which was serious enough to cause the happy virus to act that way and Jihoon was dying to know that. Even though he asked Junkyu once or twice more, he couldn't get anything out of the other's mouth.

The gloomy aura around Junkyu lasted even during the lunch time. Jihoon could see his dear friend fidgeting with the food on his plate. Junkyu kept his lips in a pout which was his sign of showing that he is in a deep thought. It's not like he didn't care about what's going on around him. He did reply to others when asked anything, however, didn't initiate any conversation. Everyone could tell something was off when Junkyu stood up, with his meal half done. He excused himself to go to the washroom, leaving a very worried Jihoon behind.

"What's up with him? He's been acting weird." Mashiho said.

"Yeah, hyung didn't even finish his meal." Junghwan said, noticing how his lively hyung was not being himself.

"Hyung, do you know anything?" Jeongwoo asked his brother, guessing that Jihoon, being Junkyu's closest friend, might know the reason behind everything. Jihoon just shrugged. The rest of the meal went by as everyone started guessing what might cause such a change in Kim Junkyu that day but Jihoon didn't concentrate on any of those because he knew something big had happened, otherwise, Junkyu would have told him by then.

Jihoon waited for Junkyu to return, but he didn't see him anywhere near the canteen. Thinking that he must have returned to the classroom, Jihoon headed there. He was already late for class as he waited for Junkyu for few good minutes so once he reached his class, the teacher was already there. Taking permission from him and entering inside the classroom, Jihoon's eyes scanned everywhere but didn't find Junkyu. With a very confused look, he sat down, wondering where the boy could be. He started feeling anxious as there was no sign of Junkyu even after 15 minutes had passed. As a sign of impatience, Jihoon started shaking his legs a bit and randomly tapping his pen on the desk, not that loudly, but loud enough for Mashiho to notice. Mashiho also noticed that Junkyu wasn't beside Jihoon. So he mouthed a 'Where's Junkyu' to which Jihoon replied a 'I don't know' with worried eyes.

As expected, at times when you want everything to go by fast, time seems to go by slower and slower. Jihoon couldn't even tell how many times he looked at the watch for the class to end but every time, the minute hand moved in the slowest pace possible. After what felt like hours, finally the watch showed that there was only 10 minutes left for the class to end and Jihoon immediately stood up to ask for going to the washroom.

Getting out from the classroom, Jihoon started looking for Junkyu. Starting from the washroom stalls, he looked at the fields, school canteen, corridors; he even checked the club rooms but saw no sign of Junkyu anywhere. He started getting more worried as seconds passed by because Junkyu had never skipped a class before when Jihoon wasn't with him. When Jihoon thought he looked everywhere, one certain place, that he never expected he would search, came to his mind. He rushed up the stairs, maybe 3 at a time, to reach the rooftop of their building.

Junkyu was there. Holding the railing with both hands, hair moving a bit with the blowing breeze and his back faced towards Jihoon, bent a little.

Jihoon approached him and ended up standing next to him. The sound of footsteps made Junkyu aware of the presence of someone. Junkyu looked to his side and surprisingly saw Jihoon. Junkyu's face was showing his sadness and Jihoon felt the sudden urge to pat his back and say, 'everything's gonna be alright'.

"Why are you here, Kyu? Do you know how worried I was seeing you skipping the class without me knowing?" Jihoon said, looking at the trees in front.

"I'm sorry. Didn't feel like going back to class." Junkyu gave a small reply.

Jihoon then looked at Junkyu who was also looking at the trees. Junkyu always looked handsome, his side profile was great with his broad shoulders. But this time, his brows were knitted together, that failed to show the usual happy profile Jihoon knew of.

"Aren't you gonna tell me what's wrong?" Jihoon asked. Junkyu sighed and looked at him. Jihoon was surprised to see his glossy eyes. Jihoon always knew Junkyu was strong. Even when things were hard on him, he didn't cry that fast. Seeing his teary eyes, Jihoon became extra worried.

Junkyu then came close to Jihoon and dropped his head on Jihoon's shoulders. "I don't wanna leave you, Jihoonie." Junkyu's voice cracked, and Jihoon felt something wet ln his shoulders. Instinctively, his hands found their way, one on Junkyu's shoulder and one on his head.

"Hey, what are you talking about? Why would you leave me?" he asked.

Junkyu didn't answer for a few moments during which Jihoon's heartbeat became faster. After regaining his words, Junkyu spoke, "Remember how once I said my parents want me to study abroad? They're making me attend college abroad, Jihoon ah. I have to leave just after my graduation."

Jihoon's shirt got wetter but he couldn't pay heed to that because he was way beyond feeling shocked and lost.

Yes, Junkyu's parents wanted him to study abroad, but it never occurred to him that he could lose his friend this fast. He couldn't even imagine how it would be like not having Junkyu around, so the news of obvious parting made him numb and he forgot about patting Junkyu or consoling him.

However, after the initial shock, Jihoon came to his senses and felt like it was his turn to console the torn boy on his shoulder, who was weeping by then.

"It's okay, Kyu. Look, you're gonna make new friends, grow up with a new culture and learn new things-"

He was cut off as Junkyu pulled his head up and glared at Jihoon with his tear-stained eyes, "Jihoon ah, don't you dare console me with these fake words. Do you even realize what's going to happen? If I study there, I might never come live in Korea again, because my parents are gonna settle down there."

Jihoon knew. He knew from the very start that there might come a day when Junkyu's family would permanently shift to a different country. He also knew that the day Junkyu leaves, would be the end to their friendship, because no matter how strong the bond is, distance can never maintain the originality of the bond. And knowing all these, no matter how hard Jihoon tried not to, his eyes showed the tremendous amount of pain the news of parting caused him.

"Jihoon, I won't be able to see you whenever I want, I won't be able to come spend my time with you at home. When I won't understand anything, I won't be able to come ask you about it. We won't have our classes together, our lunch together. And hell, I don't even know if I could ever come back to do all these with you again if they really get settled there!"

Jihoon couldn't speak a single word because everything Junkyu said were so damn true. His eyes got glossier with every word of Junkyu.

"Jihoonie," Junkyu hugged the shorter boy again, "I don't know if I love you the same way you do, but I know that I'm never gonna be able to stay without you", Junkyu said as he once again started crying on Jihoon's shoulders. And Jihoon couldn't hold back either. Because loving Junkyu only to leave him for good was too much for him to take.

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I'm Sorry that I did this to them🥺