shades of yellow » han seojun ff

36. light

DURING DINNER, WHEN Yeonwoo had gotten up to grab a platter of mushrooms, Suho sidled up to her and whispered in her ear, "Meet me outside the tent in ten minutes," before moving away just as quickly.

And so she found herself waiting for him exactly where he said, eight minutes later. Suho appeared in front of her precisely two minutes later, but walked ahead of her. Confused, she followed behind him, assuming he didn't want rumours concerning them both to swirl around the campsite.

Once they were a considerable distance away from the main hub and into the forest, he said, "I need to talk to you about something."

"Isn't that why you called me out here anyway?" She quickly fell into step with him.

"Why didn't you pull me in for the photo?"

"What photo?"

"Yesterday. During the group photos."

"That?" Yeonwoo fought back a laugh. "That's all you wanted to talk to me about? You're so dramatic, Lee Suho."

"Answer the question!"

"Ohh that. It's just that—you always look so constipated when taking pictures with people you don't like. And I figured you're pretty testy with 75% of our classmates. I didn't want to risk you storming off."

"Oh. Alright."

"Is that it? If that's so, I'll get going now." She spun around slowly, expecting his hand to shoot out and grab her wrist. 

And it did.

Suho blurted out, "What do you think about Han Seojun?"

"What is up with you and strange questions today?"

"I saw you two at the baseball game a week ago."

She paused. "Even the—"

He nodded grimly. "Especially the kiss cam. Believe me, I'm just as scarred as you."

They walked in silence until they reached the lake. It was a dark, smooth expanse of clear water. Through the surface were thin reeds slicing through it, as well as lily pads bobbing gently upon it. The sun had nearly finished its descent, spilling its warm orange hues across the horizon.

Yeonwoo glanced towards Suho, who closed his eyes underneath the golden glow of the setting sun.

She finally spoke quietly, "I'm confused about what I feel. I know that Seojun is off-limits but—"

"Why is he off-limits?"

"Because!" She threw her hands up into the hair, exasperated, and blew her hair from her face to try and calm down. "He was Seyeon's best friend. Aren't there certain boundaries when it comes to your brother's best friend?"

"That certainly didn't stop you from liking me."

"You knew?!" Yeonwoo said disbelievingly.

"Of course I did. You had a ... special personality for me whenever I was around." He fought off a smile.

"That was just a silly infatuation. I liked you at first purely because you were smart and handsome and popular, before I even knew you properly. But now ... " Her words died upon her lips.

Suho finished her sentence for her: "You like Seojun."

"He buys me mango milk because he just knows its my favourite. He takes pictures of me and hypes me up when I get embarrassed. He makes me laugh with his crazy, arrogant, warm-hearted ways. He even goes all the way to the mountains and digs through dirt and fertiliser just to cheer me up. I love to see his smile, hear his laugh, hear him talk. He makes my heart skip a beat and my cheeks flush until I want is ... him."

"You really like him, don't you?" He said softly, not even bothering to be offended. Throughout her passionate speech, his heart had softened a great deal towards the Han boy for caring so much for her.

"I do. I really, really do."

"If you like him that much, you should chase after him."

"You think so?" She scrutinised him. "Even though you hate his guts?"

"Seojun is a jerk. A prick. But I do know he'll be good to you."

"But—" Yeonwoo hesitated, knowing that what she would say would hurt him. "I think he likes Lim Jugyeong."

A nerve ticked in his jaw as he remembered why he was so pissed at Seojun. "We'll find out soon enough."

Her jaw dropped open. "Suho, you can't be thinking—"

He caught her eye. "Don't worry. I won't tell him about your feelings, which is much more than what he deserves."

"What are you talking about?"

Suho faltered, not wanting to spill the whole pot of beans just yet. "I'll tell you when I have more information. Let's walk back to the campsite, yeah?"

At this point, they did not bother keeping the distance for the sake of their classmates' wellbeing. They walked next to each other, talking. He even showed her the locket he had purchased for Jugyeong.

"Are you thinking about getting back into cello?" Suho asked her, as they walked along the row of tents. "You were really good."

"It's sitting in the corner of my room collecting dust." She admitted. "I haven't been able to bring myself to even look at it. Everything reminds me of the world that had so cruelly turned Seyeon away. But maybe now—" She halted, eyes focused on something in between the tents.

Suho followed her line of sight, to find himself looking upon Jugyeong crouched on the ground.

"There's someone I like," Jugyeong whispered loudly, hand upon the lie detector machine.

Yeonwoo and Suho glanced at each other as the machine ringed, notifying them that she was telling the truth.

"What? It was telling the truth." Jugyeong picked up the machine and held it to her ear. She stood up and turned around, freezing at the sight of the two.

"Suho? Yeonwoo!" She shoved the machine behind her back. "How long have you two been standing there?" She laughed nervously. "You should've let me know. But I'll get going now."

Her walk away was a little resigned. Those two disappeared shortly after dinner. Of course they were together. Probably on a romantic walk through—

"Jugyeong!" Suho and Jugyeong's eyes whirled towards Yeonwoo, who said slowly, "Suho wants to take a walk with you."

"I do?" Suho said blankly, at the same time as Jugyeong's, "He does?"

"Yes. He does. Now go you two." She pushed them towards each other.

While Jugyeong was a little bit ahead, Yeonwoo hissed in Suho's ear, "Confess to her and give her the locket. Kiss her if you must!"

The tip of his ears were dangerously red as he walked away, glaring at the crafty girl.

One couple down, one more to go.