Maybe it was due to her maniac movements of her arms because somehow, the driver actually stopped midway. With a beaming smile, Deiji jumped into the bus and tapped her card onto the ticket machine. "Thank you" she breathlessly exhaled before heading over to the empty seat beside him.
Plopping down, the girl noticed his amused smirk. Not liking it, she reflexively elbowed him in the stomach causing his body to fall front with his arms protecting the area. Lips fell into a scowl that released an agonising grunt.
"Suck it up. It barely hurt" ruffling her hair, Deiji placed her skateboard in front of her legs and bag on top of her lap. Scoffing, Sungchan clicked his tongue. "Like to see you say that after I do the same." he muttered under his breath.
Rolling her eyes, she proceeded to sort out her skirt in order to sit down comfortably. Eyeing her up and down, he tilted his head and hummed lightly. "Where's your tie?" he questioned noticing how one part of her school uniform was replaced with a pair of headphones that hung around her neck.
"In my bag" she retorted simply before getting to the point. "I messaged you to hold up the bus for me. But you didn't" she began to interrogate. Clearly defensive, he firmed his posture and shook his head in denial.
"I held him up for like 2 minutes but he began to get fed up. And a lot of the passengers were getting annoyed" he griped quietly before turning his head a little back to see the middle aged lady still glaring at him with fuming eyes. She looked like she was on the verge of wanting to dissemble his head off his body.
Sighing, Sungchan snapped his sight back in front. "He told me to get off if I couldn't find my ticket. But as soon as I sat down I saw you and stopped him" shaking his shoulders in his seat he huffed out some air. "You owe me," he pointed a finger to her strenuously. Afterall, he went through so much. The voices of the complaints that he heard minutes ago from the other passengers still rang in his ears like a hungry siren.
He began to wonder whether to even get this bus ever again out of embarrassment. Staring at his side profile, Deiji lifted her hand up and stroked his ear lob softly as a thank you. She knew that he liked it when she did that.
Drifting her sight of off him she placed on the headphones on and scrolled through her playlist. Bopping her head, she tapped her foot on beat, vibing with the tunes. She was in her own world, unaware of the school boy beside her.
The mere gesture of her stroking his ear sent a tingling sensation to elevate through his nerves at an abnormal rate. Snapping his sight away from her he stared out the window as one palm covered his mouth.
Sungchans heart was pounding uncontrollably.
○
"And then my dad came home with a bouquet of flowers to apologise to my mum. But the funny thing is, she wasn't even mad to begin with. She was bluffing. She just told him to make sure to not let her do everything herself and help out more next time. Afterall, it's difficult to bring up a child by your own - are you listening?" Sungchan cocked a brow to find her balancing her pen on top of her lip. Her eyes were glued to the biro with glee dancing in her eyes. "Deiji," he called out in a questioning manner.
Glancing upwards, she connected her orbs to his and the pen instantly dropped. "Ahh it fell" she clicked her tongue and began to play around with it along her slender fingers. However, Sungchan wasn't fooled by her act.
Falling serious, he sighed and placed his sandwich down. Folding his arms across his chest, the boy leaned his back onto the seat that sat in front of her desk. "I can see through you" he blatantly stated. Silently staring at him, Deiji tightened her jaw and shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm fine" she lied whist looking outside the classroom window
With a knowing smile he tilted his head. "I never asked nor did I mention what I was talking about" shutting her orbs she pressed her lips together realising how she had been caught. Exhaling, Deiji looked back at him and sent an apologetic gaze.
"I didn't mean to make this all about me again" she couldn't help it. Every time someone mentions their father she couldn't help but feel lost and hopeless. Naturally she attempts to divert her thoughts elsewhere and not pay attention to them. That was exactly what she was doing with him. It was a coping mechanism, to make her feel better about her sorrow.
However, she did not realise how contrite her best friend felt. The problem is that he cannot pretend to understand how she feels. Afterall, he has a father. All he can do is give her his presence and assurance that she is not alone and has someone to turn to when she is upset.
This is the issue with understanding people. You never know how or what someone is feeling. Even if you had gone through the same experience. Different people react in a different way to certain events and memories. That was why he unknowingly speaks about his father forgetting that it might affect her.
She doesn't say anything, so naturally, people believe that she is fine with the topic. However, deep down, she is not yet showcasing the real persona covered with a façade that shields what her heart truly wants to express.
There are times where Deiji listens to Sungchan with no issue with this conversation. However, there are days that she is unable to control her real emotions as it hits too hard. Those times, it is shown through her character.
And right now, was a perfect example. He knows that something about this topic is bothering her today
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