𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓― Duty After School

❛ 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ❜

"how so?" i asked with furrowed brows, crossing my arms as he scoffed again

"well... you talked to him with a wide smile, you laughed with him, you joked with him, and you even hugged him earlier! you never do that to me... well, not anymore" he mumbled at the end, making me look down in guilt

a few seconds passed before i came up with an answer

"that doesn't make him special, though. i do the same thing with you too"

"no, you don't. whenever i tried to joke with you or something, you'll push me away and act like you're annoyed" i sighed, suppressing my smile from how cute he was at the moment

"stop being so whiny and listen to me" he raised a brow, looking at me as i locked my gaze with his

"cha hyun-sik... he's just a friend, and we become close only when it comes to studying. well... since we're going to a 'deadly' mission tomorrow, it might have triggered him to grow worried. it was just a friendly hug, it meant nothing to the both of us" he looked away, avoiding my gaze when i waited for a reply

i smiled a little, nudging his arm

"say something"

"well..." he started, biting his lower lip, thinking hard for the right words to say

"sorry... i guess i got too carried away" i chuckled again, straightening my legs on the ground with a sigh. i looked at the other cots, the girls' tent, and our stuff laying around

it's crazy to think how fast our lives have changed

"are you okay?" i asked, so sudden that it startled him a little. he clasped his hands together and rested them on his knees before replying

"what do you mean? of course, i'm fine"

"it's about woo-taek i'm asking about. are you okay?" he froze for a second, his hands fiddling with each other to keep him from breaking down again. i noticed it, his shaky hands and uneven breaths whenever the boy was mentioned

"su-cheol" i called out softly when he's not answering. he looked up, meeting my face as he formed a small smile, nodding

"i'm okay"

liar

"no, you're not. you lost your best friend in front of your eyes. of course, you're not fine" he smiled sadly, eyes tearing up as i slowly wrapped my arms around him. just as i rested my chin on his shoulder, i could feel his tears wetting my uniform, finally letting the dam of the tears collapse

i stayed silent, rubbing his back slowly to calm him down. i let him grieve, cry, relieving his anger and sadness. it's better to let it all out than keeping it bottled up until god knows how long

we didn't get much time to grieve for our loss, instead, busying ourselves with the military trainings and stuff. but i know that deep down, all of us were still trying to keep ourselves from breaking to pieces

it was just a matter of time

"i miss him, cho-yeong" i heard his muffled voice, his forehead on my shoulder as i kept my tears from escaping. my brain replayed the moments i had with woo-taek, when he would constantly tease me with su-cheol, even after we broke up

he was the main supporter for su-cheol when he tried to win me back, and it annoyed me back then but now... i miss it. the thought made me smiled a little, knowing that his effort was not going to waste

"me too... badly"

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