Cynosure || Choi Yeonjun [ON HOLD]

✧ 22

Hyewon POV:

I was beyond relieved when Jeonghan seemed to buy my nonchalant brushing off of Jiseul's comment, despite my earlier inability to hide how shocked I was when she said that.

However, behind my lighthearted exterior that I forced myself to hold up for the rest of the day, my mind was rushing with questions and conspiracies revolving around how Jiseul knew.

I had only told Jaemi, and I knew she would never talk to anyone about it, besides me.

The steps I took throughout that day were all half-supervised, narrowly avoiding bumping into or tripping over things more than I could count. My head was far too preoccupied to pay attention to anything other than trying to piece the answer together.

The whole unpredictability of her knowledge was what unsettled me the most; if a complete stranger knew, who else did?

Did Yeonjun know? Did Juyoung know? Did everyone else at school know?

I was always someone who loved to hear about gossip and what was going on in other people's lives, but it always felt horrible to be on the other side of the spectrum.

It bothered me enough when people spoke about me being a slut, but I was a little comforted by the fact that I knew those words were empty. These words weren't empty, and could potentially destroy my social status.

The best thing I could do about it was pretend that it never happened, and mindlessly brush it off if anyone brought it up ever again.

Of course, pretending it never happened meant the same for everyone. I wouldn't let myself tell Jaemi, and I wouldn't let myself even think about it.

"Hey, Wonnie! How was school?"

My mother's cheerful voice was the first thing I heard as soon as I stepped foot inside, temporarily brightening the troubles in my head so much that it would take effort to look at for too long.

A smile spread unknowingly across my face when I heard her voice.

"It was fine, mom. How was work?"

Of course I wasn't going to tell her about everything happening at school. She wouldn't be able to help me with any of it, and it would only make her worry about me.

I kept on my relieved smile after hearing her and looked at her with genuine interest, always being better at lying when I had a proper reason.

She grinned back at me, averting her eyes as she started to list her favourite things that had happened throughout her day in the office.

=

Juyoung POV:

I was already irritated by that girl making fun of Jaemi, but that comment about Hyewon's anorexia was what really upset me.

It's clear to me how hard she tries to hide it, so I absolutely had to step in when Haru's friend let those words slip so easily from her lips. She doesn't want anyone knowing about it, not even me.

I had had my suspicions for a good while, but only knew for sure when Jaemi confirmed them after I asked her about it. At first, I wanted to talk to Hyewon about it to try and help, but Jaemi managed to assure me that she was in good hands, so I trusted her to take care of my sister.

However, that never stopped me from worrying about her.

I might only be twenty minutes older than her, but I still can't help but feel protective of Hyewon, so much that I would strongly express my disapproval whenever she started seeing a guy.

Those feelings were buffed, however, when I saw how happy Hyewon appeared to be when she was with Jeonghan.

Although I'm never the type to assume a male and female can't ever just be friends, I could sense something more intense between the two of them when I observed them interacting with each other.

When I would usually see Yeonjun flirting with Hyewon, I wouldn't think much of it, as it's just something he normally does. With Jeonghan, however, there was something different in his eyes when he looked at her, something that seemed more reliable than Yeonjun and his unserious mannerisms.

On the night that they went to the arcade, that was when I finally settled the decision in my mind. I wouldn't mind Jeonghan dating my sister.

Plus, when I saw how he handled the situation with Haru's friend, it only added to my approval of the potential relationship. I knew him to usually be a reserved guy who kept his thoughts to himself, so seeing him go out of his way to help Hyewon was both a surprise and a relief to me.

What didn't relieve me, however, was the fact that I knew Hyewon would either ignore or laugh the girl's words off, instead of talking about it to anyone. Despite being naturally outgoing, she would always stay quiet about something that could ever make her feel vulnerable.

Jaemi was an exception, though.

I pressed the 'call' button on her contact and brought the cell up to my ear as I felt a slight sense of déjà vu wash over me.

It rung about twice before she picked up.

"Hey, Juyoung."

A grin grew on my face at the trigger of her voice, my stomach suddenly fluttering softly.

"Hey, Jae. What are you doing?"

"Taking a study break. And you?"

"Thinking about you."

The line went silent for a few seconds, drawing a smirk across my lips. I knew that my comments like this made her embarrassed, and I knew I would hear the smile in her voice when she eventually spoke again.

"You're stupid."

Called it.

"And you're my little genius."

I stayed quiet afterwards for a short while, contemplating if it was necessary to tell Jaemi about what happened with Hyewon earlier.

"Something happened today..."

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