𝖿𝖺𝗋 𝖺𝗐𝖺𝗒 - 𝖼.𝗒

♥︎♡ ! >﹏< 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝟲 !

"uh...sorry." yeonjun says awkwardly, apologising for us being late. "my bad."

we take our seats on either end of the circular table, aware of everyone staring at us but just trying our best to ignore it. everybody is staring. and i mean everybody. a couple of people are whispering between each other but i can't make out any words. their eyes are either hooked onto yeonjun, to me. i understand why people are looking at yeonjun - the state of his face is quite unsettling and i'm sure everyone is wondering how it happened. but i don't understand why people are also looking at me. there's no reason for them to look at me. it's unnerving. it's a horrid feeling.

"uh...okay. we'll play a few rounds of finish the quote and then move on to character analysis." mr. carter says. he doesn't seem so lively and enthusiastic like usual. this time, it's like he knows something unsettling. it's like everyone knows something. do they know?

i look to yeonjun as he looks to me.

this time last week, all everyone could talk about was yeonjun and beomgyu's fight. now, beomgyu is just sat in silence, like every other member of the class. jayden and landon aren't even talking. they're just sat in silence, like every other member of the class.

finally, when both period one and two are over, the awkward silences and constant stares are minimised.

daeun marches up to me. i stare at her. she stares at me.

"what in the world?" she says, dragging me into the girls bathroom.

"woah!" i say, in attempt to keep all my books off the floor, and my face off the ground.

"what happened?" she says. but she immediately whacks me on the arm.

"ow!" i say.

"that's for ditching kendall's party!" she says. then she grins massively. "and oh my god! what the hell? that video?!"

"what video?"

"the video of you guys singing! that song! simple simplicities!" she says, as if i'm supposed to be aware that there's a video.

i just stare at her. how does she know about this?

"hello?! it's gone viral?" she says.

"WHAT?!"

"chaewon! you guys were insane! it was amazing! why didn't you tell me you were performing? i would have ditched kendall's too just to watch!" she says.

my heart is thumping. "wait, someone posted it?" i say, processing this all too slowly.

"yeah, then about five million people shared it!" she adds on casually. "chaewon, why didn't you tell me?" she says with a stroppy face.

my heart sinks with guilt. "i would have, but a lot was happening. we were trying to keep it secret incase yeonjun's dad found out-" but i cut myself off when i see daeun's expression switch. "what?" i ask.

her voice lowers. "everyone knows what happened." she says. "about him abusing yeonjun." she says.

my heart sinks even lower. that's why everyone's been staring. they've all seen the video, and they all heard about yeonjun's dad.

"how did everyone find out?" i ask.

"apparently a kid in our year's dad is in nypd." she explains. "he did the arrest, told his kid about it but then he went and spilled the beans to the entire school." she says.

i'm silent. i don't really know what to say about it.

"were you there?" she asks, already knowing the answer in my expression. "what happened?"

i bite my lip before i start to explain. "yeonjun has always loved art and music. his dad doesn't accept it though, and made him get rid of all his stuff because he wants him to get a proper job and quit playing around." i say. "obviously it's complete bullshit. yeonjun is insanely talented, and should be allowed to do whatever the hell he likes. so he turned their old garage into a secret studio, keeping everything." i say. "we wrote that song and performed it so that yeonjun could stand up to him and show him that it's not a joke, so he'd start taking hi seriously. but...well, he didn't take it so well." i say.

her eyes study me as i explain it to her.

"he smashed yeonjun's guitar backstage. then yeonjun reacted by pushing him back against the wall. that's when his dad just lost ir, and hit him over and over."

"oh my god." she says quietly, lifting her hand up to her mouth.

"security burst in, and he was arrested." i finish. "and...that's it." i say. "that's what happened."

she shakes her head with disbelief. "that must have been terrifying." she says to me. "are you okay?"

"me? yeah, i'm fine." i say. "yeonjun is the one i'm worried about."

"yeah, i can't imagine how he's feeling." she says.

"he explained it in the car." i tell her. "he's strangely calm about it, and is almost glad it happened." i say. "him and his dad have never seen eye to eye, and now he's in jail, he's not a problem anymore." i say.

"what so he's just...okay?" daeun asks.

"well that's how he's acting." i say. "i don't know how he's really feeling under it all."

she nods, taking it all in. "so you two are on okay terms now?" she asks.

oh god, last time we spoke about yeonjun, it was when i was mad at him over that weekend. so much has changed since then. how do i even put it into words?

her expression shifts, with pure confusion and excitement taking over at once. "what's that face?" she asks me.

"what face?" i ask.

"that little smiling, flushed face going on." she says. wiggling her finger in front of my face.

i just sort of blink.

"spill." she says, instantly knowing. "what happened?"

"we've just...kissed a couple of times."

"kissed a couple of times?!" she screeches. "that's not something you say casually!" she says.

i'm smiling like an idiot, my eyes sheepishly avoiding hers.

"oh my god!" she's smiling. then her face turns to horror. "oh my god!" she says in a deeper tone. "but you're not allowed to-"

"i know, i know." i say. "can we not talk about this at an extreme volume please?" i ask her.

her hand covers her mouth. "oh my god." says her muffled voice. "chaewon, this is crazy. how is everything so complicated? kendall and i are just close pals, going to tourist destination and house party's." she laughs at the ridiculousness of it all. "but you and yeonjun...you two have been through it all. fights, arguments, secrets, performing, coral videos, court cases, kissing-"

i hold my finger to my lips, just as some girls enter the room. i don't want any more rumours. even if they're true. so i make sure her lips are sealed before anyone can overhear anything we're saying.

they look at us, so we smile at the awkwardly.

so everyone knows about yeonjun's dad hitting him? and there's a video of us that has gone viral? this exchange trip has been anything but predictable.