Behind the Curtain [Seo Changbin ff]

22

- Did he hurt you? - He asked, starting the car and driving to school.

I shook my head, smiling faintly while looking down.

- Thank you. You shouldn't be doing this. - I looked back up at him, his gaze unreadable, fixed on the road in front of him.

He sighed, not answering nor giving me any signal of reception of my words, leaving a bitter feeling inside me.

The rest of the drive was silent, mostly made of me trying to start a conversation, and Changbin barely replying and cutting the conversation short. I couldn't help but wonder how he could switch from being very open and warm to closing himself in a dark and mysterious aura in a matter of seconds.

We walked past the gates, still in silence.

- What about your promise? - I asked, stopping on my tracks and forcing him to do the same.

- What promise? - He asked, still his unreadable expression on.

- To show me what's behind the curtain. - He sighed, ruffling his hair and looking nervously around him, starting to sweat nervously as soon as he saw Jeongin, Felix and Seungmin approach us, Chan and Hyunjin tagging along.

- I'll pick you up after work. - Was all he said before he ran away from my friends, who by now were standing next to me.

- You guys are hanging out too much for my liking. - Seungmin said, squinting his eyes as he observed Changbin's figure walk away.

I turned to him with a questioning expression, slowly morphing into a frown, both Chan and I saying the same thing at the same time.

- He's nice if you get to know him. -

Felix bursted out laughing, Seungmin rolling his eyes and taking Hyunjin's hand, walking away from us annoyedly.

- Are they dating? - I pointed at the pair, who disappeared behind the corner into the hallway full of students.

The remaining three shrugged their shoulders, not really knowing what to answer.

I eyed Chan and Felix, both of them clinging onto each other, Chan's arm swung over the younger's shoulders protectively.

- Are you two dating? - I asked with a smirk, making both boys flush red.

- We haven't discussed it yet, we're taking it slow... - Chan said, scratching the back of his neck embarrassedly.

- That's good. You guys would make a great couple, though. - I smiled, gesturing Jeongin to follow me. - Innie, let's go. -

We both walked away, leaving the flustered couple to discuss their relationship.

•••

My shift was almost over, and surely enough, Changbin walked in nervously, hands in his pockets and avoiding my gaze.

- Two ice creams. - He said, pushing the card on the counter to pay.

- What flavour? - I asked, hoping he would at least look at me, but he didn't.

- One vanilla and chocolate, the other one you choose. - He said with indifference, staring at the wall behind me.

I smiled feebly, knowing the second ice cream was for me. It felt nice to know that at least one person cared about me, even if he didn't want to admit it.

- Then the second one is on the house. - I smiled, handing him back the card after paying for his.

Only then, he finally looked at me.

- Won't it get you fired? -

- One free ice cream won't send this place bankrupt. - I shrugged my shoulders, smiling at him as I handed him his ice cream.

I rushed on the back to change, hurrying to close the shop, not forgetting to take my cup of ice cream.

We sat in the car in silence, tasting the sweet flavour of our dessert, no one wanting to be the first to speak.

He started driving while I was still halfway through my cup of ice cream. I observed him as he turned the steering wheel, eyes fixed on the road.

He seemed tense, muscles never relaxing, not even for a second.

After what it felt like an eternity of awkward silence, he parked the car in a secluded area, far from the noise of the city.

We were close to a river, which flowed quietly, the sound of the wind blowing through the tall, untamed grass filling the cold air.

He sat on a bench which stood right in front of the water, close enough that you could hear the sounds of the current.

He sighed, staring into the darkness for a little while, a single, far-away lamppost being the only source of light.

I could barely make out his features and facial expressions as he observed the water flow slowly.

- My sister loved this place. -

Thousands of questions flooded my mind.

He had a sister? Why did nobody know about that? Did she live in Korea? How old was she? Did she go to our school?

I tried to think of any girl whose last name was "Seo", but I couldn't think of any.

- I didn't know you have a sister. - I said lowly, copying him in staring into the distance.

- Nobody does. Only Chan knows. And I wish to keep it like this. - He turned to face me, his tone and expression warning me.

I nodded, as if promising him I wouldn't have said anything.

- Her name was Soojin. -

Was.

Past tense.

I gulped, a lump suddenly forming in my throat, impeding me to speak.

I wasn't the only broken one. He had lost someone too.

I wanted so bad to ask him what happened to her, but I forced myself to stay quiet and not force the words out of him. It was the only way, if I wanted to get anything out of him.

- Yesterday I was here before you came to my house. That's why I was in a bad mood at first. - He explained, going back to stare in front of him, hands in his pockets and eyes lost in the distance.

There were a few moments of silence, interrupted by a few sniffles coming from him.

He was quick in wiping away a single tear, wanting so desperately to hold everything in.

But before I even realized it, he was crying his heart out, his face buried in his hands as he sobbed and hiccuped.