Stars and Summer Skies (ZB1 Ricky X Female OC) [COMPLETED]

Ch. 1: Lies, Lots of Them

Sometimes, it takes too long to find the people you actually need in life.

What makes it horrible is that they might just end up showing you a world completely different from the one you always knew. And either you end up in a much worse state, or you realize that the life you've been living was actually just living hell... You were just too scared to step out into the real world to try and find out.

Clasp!

Yeoreum held onto the boy's wrist, waking him out of his trance and leading his gaze to turn to her. And yet, his gaze was clouded, like he wasn't actually looking at her.

The girl furrowed her brows as she tilted her head. She inspected the troubled-looking boy's face, before her gaze would then turn to the large mansion stood before them.

It loomed, and its shadow seemed to cast on the boy on purpose.

"Hey..." Yeoreum spoke, turning back to the boy beside her, and seeing that he had looked back at the house with that fear-stricken stare. "Hey!" she repeated her words, tugging on his wrist again and making him look back at her. "Are... are you okay?"

The boy gulped, looking down and taking in a deep breath before he spoke. "... Yeah," he finally responded, but the shaking of his voice proved otherwise.

It was clear to the girl already, though, what it meant: He wasn't ready to go "home", yet.

☆

Ricky Shen was a mysterious... entity. To Yeoreum, at least.

He gave off this cold aura, barely spoke, and just seemed unapproachable all in all... But when he wasn't any of that, he was warm; and he actually turned out to be really good at everything. But his warm days were always rare.

Those were what Yeoreum kept looking forward, too. Even though she wasn't that close enough with him to be there every time that smile of his showed. But she's always noticed him. She just never figured that he'd have noticed her all along, too.

Not especially on that day she had accidentally saved him...

Though, to be honest, she didn't really think much of it when she pulled him out of the river that night. Which was very puzzling, indeed. After all, Han River is known as a famous suicide spot, among other things.

But after that time, the boy had become nonchalant towards her. And he tried to ignore her... and yet Yeoreum had caught him watching her several times already. So much so to the point that she decided to approach him herself.

Now, Yeoreum Song... she isn't really that far off from Ricky, either. Personality-wise, that is. She's known as cold and nonchalant at first glance, but once she spoke, it would become rather obvious that she was just "selectively quiet" and had been cursed with a resting bitch face.

So, of course, it had surprised Ricky when she finally approached him.

"Hey... why are you ignoring me?" she had asked him, one afternoon when she finally caught up to him after his cleaning duty in his classroom.

He had almost lost his balance then, due to his surprise at her showing up seemingly out of nowhere. But he caught himself quickly, and then the next thing he knew, he was standing there, face to face with the girl he had been meaning to avoid all this time.

And then she asked about the last thing he wanted her to mention. "Is it because I stopped you from trying to end your life? That's what you had been meaning to do that day, wasn't it?"

Ricky's eyes had widened at that point, and the next move he made, he didn't even think much of it as he quickly placed his hand on the girl's mouth. His eyes were shaking as he met her eyes, hers having widened as well at his sudden movement and change of demeanor.

He looked scared. Probably terrified, even. And then he spoke with a shaking voice, "Don't... speak of that... please." That is, before he looked past Yeoreum and into the halls, as if to check if someone had heard.

At this point, Yeoreum had become really frustrated. She had barely even got an answer, and yet here is this boy with his hand on her mouth and keeping her from talking. Something that, metaphorically, Yeoreum experienced a lot but never got used to.

With a grunt, she pushed Ricky's hand away, and proceeded to shove him back, once again causing him to step back into the room. And before he even got to realize what was happening, the girl went on to yell at him in her frustration.

"What is wrong with you?!"

But, that wasn't her intention now, was it? To yell at the boy she knew was suicidal. No, that was definitely not ideal.

Ricky flinched then froze. And well, so did Yeoreum. Before the girl would slowly approach him, her hand reaching out to the boy's hand which he ended up holding close to his chest. The same one he used to cover her mouth.

"I-I'm sorry. That's not what I meant to–"

"No," he spoke all of a sudden, drawing back again and away from the girl's reach before he looked back at her with a soft, subtly sad smile. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

After that day, and several ones after it, Yeoreum would go on to wonder how she's managed to do absolutely nothing after Ricky would say those things. She knew they were lies, but somehow, that's where the conversation always ended.

She just didn't know how to go on from that point.