"Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Ru looked up to Donghyuck staring at her.
"Are you okay?" He chuckled, "you've been quiet all day."
She shook her head dismissively— "yeah, no, I'm fine."
Ru wasn't exactly fine, but what else could she have said? She tried to focus on the board, but it must've looked like she was just staring at it; Donghyuck leaned closer to her, whispering so the teacher wouldn't catch them.
"Are you sure? Jaemin bought you that strawberry jelly drink you like so much and you didn't even drink it."
She tore her gaze from the teacher, giving him a funny look. Was it that obvious?
She chuckled, "yesterday was just a weird day, is all."
"Well—" he shrugged— "today's not yesterday anymore, you know? So if it's still bothering you, it must be more than just a weird day."
Her eyes were stagnant on him, her mind slowly wandering away.
"You can talk to me about it, if you want."
His little smile pulled her back, and she couldn't help but smile back.
She was upset about Jia's sudden confession. But after what she found out at home, she felt guilty feeling bad about something as silly as that.
She looked down at her textbook, fiddling with its pages.
"My foster mom—" she uttered softly, glancing at him— "we found out yesterday that she has a tumor."
Donghyuck's eyes widened.
"Jeez, Ru—" he sat back on his chair, rubbing the back of his head— "that's more than just a weird day, that's terrible."
"Yeah," Ru sighed. "Now I kinda wish I drank that jelly."
Donghyuck chuckled silently, leaning closer to her again. He glanced briefly at the teacher to make sure she wasn't looking their way, before he whispered, "let's just ditch school after this."
She furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"
"Yeah, I'll buy you the jelly downstairs and we can all just walk around."
She looked at him incredulously. "ditch school? We still have half the day to go!"
"You're not gonna die from missing out one day of school," Donghyuck pointed out like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides, you need it."
She bit her lips and stared at the board... She had never ditched school before.
She watched as the teacher continued to write on the board, the endless words spilling on the board like scattered, illegible letters.
It's not like she could focus if she stayed.
"Fine," she conceded, "but we're not making this a habit, okay?"
Donghyuck flashed her a cheeky grin, giving her a small salute. "You got it, ma'am."
She rolled her eyes playfully; a little smile lingered on her face.
⭒⭒⭒
The hallways were always packed with students during recess time. Ru stayed close to Donghyuck as they walked down the stairs, jostled in between other students also rushing to get to the courtyard.
Donghyuck stuffed his phone into his back pocket just as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"I just texted Jaemin and Renjun to meet us by the mini mart. Meanwhile, we'll get you that jelly you really want—" he squished her cheeks.
YOU ARE READING
Touch || Lee Jeno
Fanfiction"We were a game of chance. Rigged by the universe, cursed by the stars." Everyone has a soulmate. But most times, even a lifetime isn't enough for soulmates to find each other. Ru didn't think she could be the exception. After all, what kind of stor...
