Another Fairy Tale /Ateez

Chapter 38 - Missing puzzle pieces

Rory nodded and took a deep breath before explaining everything. At one point she started crying but Len didn't interrupt her, knowing she wouldn't want to seem weak. The huge burden on Rory's shoulder was gone but now replaced with worry and grief. After finishing she wiped away her tears, relieved someone else knew about this. 

"That's crazy.", Len whispered and caressed Rory's back. "You chose to fight for them even if it could mean your death. And no one knows about it." 

"I don't care about people knowing.", Rory said. "In a weird way this helped me cope with my own pain and now since they can't remember me, it feels like I'm at the start again. For once in months I truly felt at home, loved, and that's all gone now." 

"But that doesn't mean it can't happen again."

"I know. It's just- just like torture, you know? I can't talk to them like before, use the same inside jokes. Maybe we will become friends again, but they will never remember these things. This version of our friendship only exists in my mind and now I wish I would've forgotten too." 

"If you choose to forget about it, the pain would go away, but that's not worth it, Rory.", Len said with a serious tone. "You wouldn't be the person you are today. The girl who went through shit to save her friends, the girl who saved not only them but also herself. You wouldn't be my friend then, probably." 

"You're right.", Rory sniffled. "It just hurts so much." 

Len pulled her into a hug. "I'm here for you, okay? You don't have to deal with it alone." 

The next few days Rory visited Lennie more often and helped Ms. Choi clean the house. She wanted to show her gratefulness and at the same time be close to her friend. Len was more anxious and stressed, so Rory ordered her to lay down and sleep. Surprisingly Len fell asleep shortly after most of the time. 

This time Rory came by right after school. She had promised Wonbin to help him with his homework since he had no clue in maths. Rory stepped into the house and was met with the familiar smell of flowers and books. She couldn't help but feel surprised by the way she had gotten used to this so fast. It almost felt like a new home. 

"Hey, Rory!", Ms. Choi greeted her, especially happy this day. "How was your day?" 

"I passed my history exam.", Rory answered, trying not to sound too proud of herself. It was the first time in months she had passed an exam and even though her grades were still low it was an improvement. A guide for her. 

"Wonbin's already waiting for you in the living room. He's been nagging me about you all day." 

"How's Lennie?" 

"She's sleeping upstairs." 

Rory first went into Lennie's room to check on her and saw her friend was indeed sleeping peacefully. Careful, to not wake her, she put the blanket over her body and exited the room as silent as possible. 

When Rory opened the living room door, she spotted Wonbin on the couch, but then her gaze fell onto someone else and she had to resist running away. 

"Hi!", Jongho greeted her happily while Yunho simply waved at Rory, too surprised to say anything. He didn't expect them to meet like this again. Now nervous Yunho looked at his outfit and his ears turned red in embarrassment, when he realized he was wearing the bear pyjama he borrowed from Jongho. His hair was probably a mess too, he thought.

"Hey.", Rory said, her voice shaking a bit. Of course she had known that it would be unavoidable to meet him again. But she for sure hadn't been prepared now. "You're already free from the hospital?" 

Jongho laughed. "Luckily yes. Only Wooyoung has to stay a bit longer." 

Rory nodded, not sure what to say, and looked at Wonbin who was already preparing his homework. "So which task troubles you?" 

"All of them? I hate math." 

With shaking fingers Rory reached out to his book and looked at the tasks herself, feeling uncomfortable under Yunho's look. She was aware he was watching her and it drove her insane. 

"You're helping my brother?", Yunho asked, trying to sound normal. Rory flinched at the sound of his voice, something she had wished for to hear but now she had no idea how to react. 

"Mmmh."

Math was definitely not in Rory's mind right now. It was hard concentrating on it and even Wonbin noticed that, even though he had no idea why. At one point Rory's head was so dizzy, she had to go outside to catch her breath. When she came back, she waved at the boys. 

"I'll probably get going." 

"Would you like to watch a movie with us?", Jongho asked with a small smile but still Rory declined. 

"My head hurts. I should get some rest I think." 

Wonbin pouted. "But you will come tomorrow, right?" 

"Of course.", Rory answered and couldn't help but smile. She smiled at them one last time before exiting the house and making her way home, relieved to be free from the tension. As much as she enjoyed being near Yunho, as much it actually hurt her. 

After Yunho brought Wonbin to bed, he came down in the living room again where Jongho already waited with a bag full of popcorn. When he spotted his friend coming down the stairs he gave him a smile but immediately saw something was wrong. "Are you okay?" 

Yunho shook his head. "Just worried." 

"Why?" 

"Rory. I don't know why but it feels like she's avoiding me. Does she not like me?" 

 Jongho put away the popcorn and turned to his friend. "I don't think so. She's probably just overwhelmed or something." 

"But she's pretty normal with the other's. Why not with me?" 

It pained Jongho to see his friend so discouraged. The worry in Yunho's eyes made it look like he had lost all hope. "Talk to her, then. I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding. On top of that we wanted her help, right? It's been especially hard for Seonghwa to cope with the loss." 

Yunho's head shot up and he scolded himself for worrying about something so small when his friend had to get over losing his girlfriend. Even if they had been only together for a month, Yunho knew Seonghwa really loved Danbi. He couldn't even imagine the pain his friend was going through. 

"How is he?" 

Jongho shrugged. "He seems fine on the outside but no one actually knows what's really going on inside him." 

"Is anyone with him?" 

"Hongjoong, I think. He invited himself over to his house and refuses to go.", Jongho replied, holding back a laugh. 

"That's good. At least he's not alone.", Yunho said, deep in thought. "Do you think we really should go to school tomorrow? I'm scared, honestly." 

"It may be a bit early, I admit that. But don't you think it's important to get back to our normal life?" 

"You're right.", Yunho replied, knowing fully well school wasn't going to be important to him now. 

When Yunho went to bed, his heart was still confused. It troubled him so much that Rory obviously didn't like him. Did he do something wrong? The fact that he felt nervous and anxious around her, kind of in a good way, didn't make it easier. He never felt like that before the accident right? 

Yunho remembered Rory as a shy girl, who could change to a completely different person with her friends around. He remembered the proud smile when their plan of getting Seonghwa and Danbi together worked. He remembered how he had tried to calm her down before her first play. 

Never in these moments he felt nervous around her, but why now? Yunho felt as if a big puzzle piece was missing in his head. 

After thinking about it for another hour Yunho finally fell asleep, dreaming about a big ship floating on clouts.