shades of yellow » han seojun ff

40. aureolin

IN THE FIELD, THE two boys tossed and turned like a pair of overgrown toddlers amidst the stalks of wheat.

"Do you call yourself human?" Suho growled, pinning down Seojun by the collar.

Seojun shot back with a snippy, "Are you blind? Then what do you think I am?"

With one swift movement, he rolled over so that it he who had the upper hand and Suho lying on the ground.

"You're playing with her feelings!"

Seojun paused. "Wait, who are we talking about?"

Suho yelled, "You jerk!" as he propelled his legs upward to kick Seojun off him.

A short distance away, Hyunkyu and two other guys were watching their fighting match with mild interest. "Are they fighting for real?"

Suho stood up. "Jeong Yeonwoo. You flirt with her—yes, I saw you two at the baseball stadium—and confuse her. Do you even like her, or do you just like playing with her?"

Seojun yelled back agitatedly, "I didn't want to like her in the first place!"

In an instance, Suho switched his stance. He argued, "Why not? She's a great girl."

"I—" Seojun was at a loss for words. His fists clenched and unclenched, then he admitted, "I just can't. It's complicated."

"Then figure it out!" They both kicked at each other before falling violently to the ground.

Suho gasped, "Make up your mind. Otherwise, I will seriously snap your neck."

"Why do you care so much?"

"She's my friend, what more reason should I have?"

"Jerk."

"Prick."

—

The dinner tent was, once again, filled with the head-buzzing aroma of grilled meat. Although the smell was incredibly enticing, Seojun was preoccupied with other, more important things:

Scrolling through photos of Yeonwoo.

It was the photos he had taken of her the day they arrived at the camp, when he had acted like a ridiculous photographer and made her pose for the camera. To ensure no-one suspected what he was doing, he kept his face stoic as he went through each photo.

But his façade broke when he came across a photo of Yeonwoo mid-laugh. Before he knew it, a smile had stretched upon his face.

He skipped to the previous shot, in which she was glaring into the camera. "I think she looked prettier in the last photo."

Seojun yelped. Chorong's face was thisclose to his, eyes riveted just as focused onto the phone screen. "This one." Chorong flicked to the shot of Yeonwoo laughing.

Seojun frowned. "She always looks pretty."

"Ah. You have a crush on her, don't you?" Chorong grinned widely. "I like her very much. Hey, when she becomes your girlfriend, can I still go to the gym with her?"

Seojun glowered at him, at which Chorong backed away. "Alright alright, I won't. But if I get a girlfriend, you're not allowed 5 metres close to her. With your looks—"

"Chorong, I—" Seojun winced and ruffled his hair. "I can't believe I'm trying to get love advice from you. But—I'm just really confused."

Chorong's face switched from hurt to interested and he scooted his chair closer. "Spill."

"So the thing is, I like this girl. And ... she's sort of my best friend's sister."

"Yeonwoo has a brother?"

"Do you even keep up with gossip? She's Seyeon's sister, Jeong Seyeon, my best friend!"

"The one who's—oh."

"When I tried confessing to her, this ghost popped out from the tree and ran past us. I still get chills thinking about it." He shuddered.

Chorong suddenly gasped, the piece of meat that had been in his mouth dropping to the floor.

"Yah, pick that up," Seojun said disgustedly. "And don't eat it."

When Chorong turned to him, his eyes were wide and fearful. "Do you think ... that that was a sign?"

"What sign?"

"From Seyeon. Telling you not to hit on his twin sister, otherwise he'll—" Chorong slowly slid his finger across his throat. "Kill you."

"I'm pretty sure the ghost was a female." Seojun was not a believer in divine intervention. But still, he could not help but feel worried.

"Spirits can send other spirits in their place, you know. Haven't you watched any horror movies? This is just like a movie—boy falls in love with his dead best friend's sister, but all these signs from the universe are telling him to, you know, not hit on his best friend's sister. You know? A melodrama, it's like a melodrama. Hah! I should be a scriptwriter. That sounds real interesting."

With that, Chorong went back to eating comfortably, his mood immediately brightening as a new batch of meat was grilled on the charcoal-top stove.

It was only Seojun who did not reach out for more meat. He just stared morosely at the limp, pale, watery piece of mottled lettuce left on his plate. 

It looked exactly how he felt.