Happy Without Me | WooJun

7. P A T H E T I C

There are some days where a slight drizzle feels like a monsoon
~

Yeonjun angrily ran out of the school, looking up at the evening sky. It was starting to get dark and chilly, but Yeonjun was burning with fury and hurt. Beomgyu followed him out, wanting an explanation.

"Yeonjun wait!" Beomgyu called after him, running to catch up. He managed to reach Yeonjun and grab his arm to hold him still. "What the hell is going on? Did you guys argue on Sunday?"

"It's not just Sunday!" Yeonjun exclaimed, aggressively shrugging Beomgyu off. "I've been arguing with him from the second I got here, and I've had it! I know I'm the bad guy in this situation, but he's no angel either."

"You're not making any sense," Beomgyu said.

Yeonjun sighed, knowing that it was time to tell Beomgyu the truth. There's no other way he could explain this situation and he didn't want to keep his frustration to himself anymore.

"Wooyoung and I went to the same school before we both moved here," Yeonjun said, but Beomgyu still looked confused. "He was my best friend, but I messed up and now... he hates me."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you-" Beomgyu attempted to reassure his friend, but it wasn't working.

"Did you not see him today? That's not the first time we've fought like that. Two years ago, I made a mistake and Wooyoung hated me for it. After we argued, he distanced himself from me until he disappeared altogether. He left the school because he couldn't stand me. It's been two years since I've heard from him and I thought if I was to ever see him again, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe we just needed time and space, but I was so so wrong. It's even worse than before. It's like he hates me even more now! Beomgyu if you saw the look in his eyes back when we were friends and now... you wouldn't think they were the same people."

"Wow... that bad huh?" Beomgyu seemed lost for words and Yeonjun couldn't blame him. He could be a little oversensitive at times that it would end up making him feel pathetic.

"I'm sorry for messing up the project, you guys can finish it off and tell the teacher that I didn't help at all. Wooyoung was right... I shouldn't take any credit for the grade that you guys get," Yeonjun said sadly. "I have to get going." He quickly sped off in the opposite direction before Beomgyu could stop him, not wanting to answer any more questions.

Meanwhile, as soon as Yeonjun stormed out and Beomgyu ran after him, Wooyoung let out a frustrated yell, shoving San away from him.

"What the heck is wrong with you two?" San questioned. "There's clearly something you're both hiding."

"He's an asshole," Wooyoung said simply, sitting down on the chair. "He'll never change."

"Wooyoung can you please explain what just happened," San said, sitting next to his friend.

Wooyoung sighed, his breath shaking from anger and sadness. "Remember how I never wanted to talk about my old school since I transferred?" San nodded. "Yeonjun... he was my best friend at that school and he ruined my life there. Life was amazing back then, but I was constantly worried about him. He would go to parties, he hung out with the wrong people who introduced him to smoking and drinking and he would often skip class. We were only 15... I didn't want him to do those things. He never really listened, he always pretended to listen, and I always brushed it under the rug."

San listened intently as small tears began to form in the corner of Wooyoung's eyes.

"His bad habits led him to making out with my girlfriend one night at a party. Since everyone found out, I was somehow labelled as a 'bad boyfriend' and that's why she chose my best friend over me. No one focused on the fact that she was a cheater, or that Yeonjun was a girlfriend stealer, and I was dragged for everything instead. The pressure of all those hurtful words were so hard to bear and Yeonjun seemed fine about it. He didn't even care that I was hurting. He just brushed it off as a drunken mistake and never once stood up for me when the rest of the school bullied me."