The Sound Of Heart (2021) | Completed

18 | no cliché

After the call with Hyojin, I went back to the bonfire. Taehyung had left to find something to fill his stomach. Sandwiches and porridge was not enough for him, he said so in the brief text sent to me, and asked if I needed food too.

I told him to grab me something that came in small portion and sat down on the same chair I had left minutes ago, waiting for him.

I was humming to a few tunes on my phone when a shadow appeared from the other side of the bonfire.

It turned out to be Juyeon.

“You're back.”

I said, taking off my earbuds. Juyeon responded me with a tired smile and came to sit on the empty chair next to me.

Then it got awkwardly silent between us.

Of all the one-on-one conversations I'd ever had with Juyeon, none was about him and Hongsol themselves.

Also, they had never publicized that their relationship was romantic.

So I couldn't ask him about what happened at the music stage or simply reassure with him that Hongsol was still here.

Instead, I went with the casual topic.

“Juyeon ah, are you hungry?” - I reached to the table beside and grabbed the thermal bottle. - “Taehyung left you some porridge.”

“Thanks noona.”

I passed him the thermal bottle and a paper cup. Juyeon silently poured the porridge to the cup and slowly took a spoonful of it.

“I thought you guys were still at the stage.” - He said, eyes gluing to the porridge cup. - “I came back there but didn't see anyone.”

“The latter part was not so good. And Taehyung got hungry so soon. So we left early.”

That's a total lie, which I needed to align with Taehyung as he returned.

How could I tell Juyeon that we left the moment he disappeared with the girl because Hongsol wasn't so happy about that?

Juyeon slightly raised his eyebrows in acknowledgment, a corner of his lips curved into a smirk.

He commented, taking in a slurping spoon of warm porridge.

“That sounds totally like Taehyung hyung.”

“Is he usually like that when you guys go camping?”

“Most of the time, yes. He likes exploring foods at camping sites although the choices are often limited.”

“Oh yeah?.” - I cracked up at the revelation. - “So that explains why he always wants to be the first to taste Hongsol's new recipes.”

Smooth transition. So smooth that Juyeon paused a second to ponder, as if he was arguing with himself to ask me something or not.

“Speaking of Hongsol. . .” - I said, trying to look for a sign that he was paying attention. - “She's still here, for your information.”

“I know.” - replied Juyeon, putting the porridge cup down at his lap level. - “Actually, that's the only thing I could get to know.”

“Sure that she couldn't go anywhere this late, eh?”

“Yeah. . .” - He smiled sheepishly.

“Are you OK, Juyeon ah?”

I sat up and scooted my chair to face him. His shoulders tensed up as he pursed his lips, still hesitating about speaking to me.